Unconventional Love
by amortentia1992
Summary: [Undergoing Revisions] First comes marriage, intimacy, and then comes love. It's not the conventional way or ordering things, but what is one to do in the face of a marriage law?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The first chapter is now edited and rewritten from the original version. I am honored for all of my readers who bore with me through this despite the earlier flaws so these edits are for you guys. Any newcomers aboard this crazy train here, I sincerely hope you enjoy, and can hang tight while I continuously work to improve this story. Thank you to Slyterclaw Faerie for betaing this edited chapter, it was a tremendous amount of work for her.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not have any claims to the Harry Potter universe, so if you recognize it it's not mine. I merely write as a hobby.**

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Hermione stared at her reflection in the long, ornate mirror that adorned the back of the stone door in her new Hogwarts dorm. Left in solitude in her new quarters, Hermione found her composure and stared at her reflection. Amazed, she couldn't recall a time when she was ever as beautiful as this. She marveled at how her unruly, brown curls cascaded down her back in soft, tamed ringlets. A small section of her hair was braided and pinned up as though she were wearing a crown. Her face was enlightened by the cosmetics she wouldn't normally wear.

A rosy blush put some color on her paler complexion, and her eyes were brought out by the elegant gold eyeshadow and dark liner and mascara. A translucent, baby pink lip gloss gave her mouth a little pout, perfecting the look.

She wore a white, tea length, sleeveless, lace gown. The neckline dipped to expose her cleavage in a style that was a little less than modest. She was the picture of the perfect bride, but it wasn't the wedding she had envisioned for herself. She resigned herself to her fate, not having a choice over the marriage or the groom, due to the new marriage law. Hermione wasn't going to face Azkaban over being opposed to it.

 _Flashback_

 _Dear Miss. Granger,_

 _The Ministry of Magic is pleased to inform you,_ _with approval from Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Wizengament,_ _of Ordinance #7352._ _This legislation has passed to end class segregation within the wizarding world. The law designates that all eligible witches and wizards between the ages of 17 and 50 must marry a spouse from the opposite side of the recent wizarding war in an effort to support unity and rehabilitation_ _. It is with great pleasure that we inform you that you have been paired with Mr. Antonin Dolohov. To comply with, the law, all couples must be married within_ _a_ _month of receiving this notice. They_ _are urged to be amicable as children are expected from the union. If a couple is childless or otherwise discount with the union at the end of five years one or both parties may file for divorce to be ruled on by the Department of Marriage and Family._ _Failure to comply with this ordinance will result in_ _substantial fines including a minimum two year sentence to Azkaban_ _ **.**_ _Attached, you will find a file on your selected match, and the wizard you have been paired with will contact you_ _within the week._

 _Regards,_

 _Valerie Greenebrough_

 _Head of the Department of Wizarding Marriage and Families._

 _Shocked, Hermione dropped the letter as she finished reading it._ _The law was absolutely Ludacris! They had_ _the nerve to pair_ _her with a man whom had tried to kill her on more than one occasion. Hermione had been at his trial and realized that he was under the Imperious Curse the whole of his service to Voldemort. She realized that he had not willingly acted against her, and didn't hate him any longer._ _Regardless,_ _she couldn't shake the fear she felt when she heard his name. She was determined to voice her opinion_ _on the ordinance and strode with vehemence from the Great Hall towards the Headmistress's office, the letter now gripped firmly in her hand._

 _End flashback_

Unfortunately, Minerva had not been able to do anything to help Hermione in this, the law was ironclad and irrefutable with no known loopholes **.** Hermione's only choice was to accept it, and in the three weeks since she'd received the letter resigned herself to her fate.

Her fiancé had made every attempt to get to know her in those short weeks. He wrote her a heartfelt letter of apology for his deeds in the war. He asked her on a date to ask if to get to know her before the wedding **.** Antonin's confession that he was thrilled by the match terrified her at first, but reading further she realized it wasn't because he agreed with the law. He was only glad that he had been paired with a beautiful, intelligent and powerful witch who could hold her own in a duel. She was flattered by his praise, but there were still concerns, like the fact he was so much older and she wondered how much they would have in common.

A soft knock sounded on the door, but Hermione found herself, unable to utter a reply. A loud creak sounded **,** when the door opened to admit the Headmistress. "It's nearly time my dear girl," Minerva smiled in sympathetic support, and Hermione nodded. "I thought perhaps you might put stock in a muggle tradition for brides. I believe it goes something borrowed, something blue…"

Hermione looked away from the mirror and into her Professor's eyes, wondering how Minerva could know how Hermione had always loved the old tradition. She found comfort in the familiar words of the phrase. She had always intended to use the tradition in her own wedding, but feared that it would been seen as a silly muggle thing.

"As I thought. Now I happen to know that the dress is new, as your groom had it custom ordered for you, and that your earrings are both old and borrowed, from Miss Weasley I suspect. This would fulfil the something blue category." Minerva pulled an elegant sapphire pendant from her pocket and clasped it around Hermione's neck. It was gorgeous and complimented her gown beautifully. Still at a loss for words, Hermione smiled in gratitude as she hugged her professor.

She was nervous. She had gotten to know Antonin better and knew he wasn't the menacing man from her nightmares from when they met in battle. However, they were forced into this, and neither one of them would have chosen this circumstance for themselves. This was a path neither one had elected for themselves. The idea of consummating the marriage was frightening to her, given that she had little experience sexually **.** Alas, the law dictated that it must occur. Minerva may have given Hermione her one wedding dreams, but the ministry had interfered with the idea she had for this day since she was little. Hermione held back the tears pooling in her eyes, knowing that Ginny would be annoyed if Hermione wrecked her make-up by crying. Minerva cast a tempus charm and pursed her lips. "It is time," The stern but kindly woman said.

Outside the door, Harry waited at the end of the corridor. This law had put Hermione at odds with her friends. They believed that she was giving up too easily, and should instead stand up to the ministry. Harry was annoyed with Hermione accepting the match and pissed that she was paired with a Death Eater. The Law, which wouldn't come into effect until that summer, needed at least one couple to show the unsuspecting public how it would work. Harry, already being engaged to Ginny, was exempt from the law. The ministry would have preferred to use his status as a war hero to be the poster child for the new law, but were loath to break up his engagement. Hermione was the next best thing. It was easy for Harry to pass judgment on her when he didn't find himself facing the consequences for not obeying the new law.

The closest thing she had to a brother, Harry agreed, albeit reluctantly, to walk her down the aisle, despite his objections. Her parents were happily living in Australia, not knowing they had a daughter who was getting married. Her friend smiled warmly as she approached him and hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." He said in a very soft voice. "No matter, what, I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione's voice cracked from lack of use and the raw emotion of the day. The door of the Room of Requirement opened to unveil a small chapel. Though, not religious, Hermione loved the architecture and stained-glass windows of old cathedrals and always wanted to be married in one. The colors of glass reflected off of the stone path under the guise of sunlight streaming through. A plethora of colors reflected off the stone floor from the sunlight streaming through the windows. She was instantly reminded of the beauty of magic. Hermione logically knew there were no windows in this part of the castle, yet she truly felt she was walking in a church. She almost smiled, until she saw Antonin at the end of the walkway. She swallowed nervously, and looked down. He was smirking at her, not in a malicious way she knew, but with how she felt, his smirk was the last thing she needed to see. She noticed his trembling hands as she approached. He was nervous too it seemed. They had only met once since being paired, so this was only the second time they were facing each other since the war ended.

Harry kissed her on the cheek and placed her hand in Antonin's before throwing the wizard a death glare. Hermione took a couple of deep breaths, in an attempt to calm her racing nerves, and mustering up her Gryffindor courage, looked up at her soon-to-be husband. Her warm, whiskey hued, eyes met his misty blue ones, and she gave him a small smile before shifting her expression into a grimace towards the Ministry officials seated in the front row. She didn't miss the smirk Antonin provided at that, and he squeezed her hand reassuringly. Kinsley began the ceremony by welcoming the guests and led into the exchanging of vows.

"Miss Granger, repeat after me. I, Hermione, take thee Antonin to be my lawfully wedded Husband, to love and obey, to honor with loyalty, and forever be faithful unto, from this moment until the minute of my death." Hermione's eyes flashed with her fury at the binding words, they were preposterous, but none-the-less she repeated them.

Antonin stated similar vows **.** "I Antonin, take thee Hermione to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honor with loyalty, to forever be faithful unto, and to respect you, from this moment until the minute of my death." Hermione gasped in surprise, he had added a line to his vows, nowhere in the prompt Kinsley had provided was there anything about respect. And yet he had said it. When she looked back in his eyes she saw a twinkle. Kinsley turned back to face her.

"Do you both swear to uphold these vows?"

"I do," she whispered hating herself for agreeing to this law. She was hopeful that this match wouldn't be so bad.

"I do," echoed Antonin.

"Do you have tokens of these vows?" The Minister of Magic asked.

She nodded, and placed a single gold band on Antonin's finger; he followed suit and placed a thin, diamond encrusted, white gold band on her finger. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Unprepared for this, Hermione tensed. It was their first kiss, and she didn't want to think about the audience there to witness it. Before she could protest, Antonin leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was warm, sweet and gentle, over almost as soon as it began. He pulled away from her, but kept her hand clasped firmly in his own.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Dolohov." Antonin turned her around to face the guests, and the crowed hesitated a moment before breaking into applause. The faces in the crowed were mixed expressions of either glee or concerned disappointment. It was a bit much to take in, and Hermione's knees shook as she nearly collapsed, but her new husband's strong grip held her upright.

The reception was held in the Great Hall. As it was a weekend the students were elsewhere so the reception was a small and intimate affair. Antonin stood beside her, smiling, with his hand on the small of her back as they greeted the guests. Her new husband seemed as though he didn't want to be separated from her now that they were wed. Hermione insisted on some time to mingle with her friends. Most of them gave her words of support or promises to look after her, nice to hear but not why she sought them out. She wanted their company to distract herself from the fact that in a few hours' time she would be alone with her husband. As if on cue, he soon wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her close. She flushed at the sudden proximity, before a tremor of desire shot through her.

"Come, wife, time to eat," he whispered in her ear, his accent heavy and deliciously enticing. The meal passed by quicker than she wanted, and before long, guests began departing the castle for their own homes, or common rooms. Before the last person left, Antonin pulled her from the hall to her new chambers. For the remainder of the year, Antonin would have to visit her to fulfil the mandate of the law to copulate. She was terrified, not knowing Antonin very well and now expected to be intimate with him. She wondered what his preferences were and was nervous she wouldn't live up to them **.**

Her breath hitched when they reached the door to her chamber, and she hesitated in speaking the password. She glanced at the man holding her arms and realized that his eyes were already glazed over with desire. The quirk to his brow and determined gaze told her that he would take her against the wall if she didn't open the door. Not wanting to challenge him into action she relayed the words that opened the passage to the stone gargoyle that guarded the door.

"Stella Flora," she whispered. Antonin's hand slipped down her back to reach her bum, shoving her quickly through the doorway, following closely behind. The stone door slid shut with a small click behind them. Hermione had entered first and so moved to put some distance between them. His expression was unreadable, but he remained a few paces away from her. They both knew what had to happen, to complete the ritual.

"It was a beautiful ceremony, don't you think dorogaya?" Antonin asked her. His voice was pure masculinity, rough and deep, She found his thickly accented and unfamiliar Russian words strangely comforting. Her shoulders relaxed and slowly some nervousness dissipated.

"It was." Hermione agreed. She met his gaze. He smirked at her.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you know?" He chuckled.

"I know. It's just that I've never really done this before." Hermione blushed.

"Why don't we start with a kiss then? You seemed to like it well enough at the ceremony." Hermione nodded, and he closed the distance between them covering her lips with his own **.** This kiss was deeper than before – more insistent and full of need and longing **.** His mouth was warm against hers and he pressed against her lips encouraging her to open to him. She did and was met by the wrestling of their tongues, as she kissed him back, battling for control. Hermione's hand rose to her shoulders, circling around his neck and he backed her into the wall, grinding against her **.** He grinned at the moan he elicited from her, deepened the kiss slightly before he tore away from her swollen lips. "Eager are you, dove?" He pressed his hips into her, allowing her to feel the erection he had from kissing her **.** "You kiss well," Hermione responded, flushed and panting from the heated moment they shared. His low rumble of laughter was unmistakable proof that he had heard her soft answer. The tension between them was broken by the sound.

"Years of practice moya dorogaya," he answered, leaning in to kiss her again **.** He trailed kisses along her jaw down to her neck pushing his knee between her legs, opening them to him. His hands trailed behind her back and pulled the zipper of her dress down, revealing her creamy, pale skin. He pulled the straps off of her shoulder and the material dropped to the floor, pooling at her feet. He groaned appreciatively as she was bared to him. Caressing her breastshe sucked one of the hardened nubs into his mouth. Her breathing quickened and her eyes displayed her desire. There was no denying that by now, she was wet, he knew it, and she knew it **.** She moaned loudly as he continued to suck on her peaks. She actually cried out when he bit down, none too gently, on one nipple.

"Fuck yes!" She yelled, trying to tug her wrists free but he held them fast.

"Your breasts are perfect, my little wife." He praised. "I wonder how other parts of you will taste." His voice vibrated against her chest as he spoke. Finally, he released her hands and suddenly dropped to his knees. "Shall we find out?" He murmured.

Hermione hummed a reply, too turned on to reply. Agonizingly slow, Antonin moved his fingers over the material of white knickers, before he moved the material aside and slipped a finger into her pink folds. Hermione threw her head back when he pushed his finger in and out, and couldn't hold back the moan when his finger grazed over her clit. Antonin pulled the material down to her ankles and helped her step out of them. Then he lifted her leg and set it over his shoulder as his mouth sought out her warm center. His tongue parted her lips and pushed inside of her, lapping at her. Hermione had never felt anything like it before. She wasn't technically a virgin, but sex wasn't even comparable to this. Antonin continued to caress her center with his tongue and his fingers until she was shouting her release to the stone walls. He lifted her and carried her to the bed before kissing her again, the taste of her still on his lips.

"Okay?" he breathed as he aligned his cock with her center.

"Yes." She replied and he pushed into her. They both made sounds at the contact, Antonin experienced euphoria as he slid home. He pulled out again to repeat the motion, but he kept a slow and steady pace. It wasn't much longer until he had Hermione begging beneath him.

"Please." She pleaded.

"Please what?" He asked. "What do you want dorogaya?"

She moaned and he smirked, loving the sounds she made.

"Harder, please," she begged. He obliged, increasing the speed and the force of his thrusts much to both their pleasure. Soon, they were both close, Hermione clamping down on his turgid length as she came spurred his own orgasm. He collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily. When his heart rate slowed returned to normal he shifted to lay next to her.

"I love how responsive you are dorogaya." He commented.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe one day I'll tell you," keeping his pet name for her his little secret for the time being. "Sleep now, my sweet." She curled into his side and he pulled the blankets over them and soon they both drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: and another chapter... I'm so pleased to see so many followers and favorites already, I must be doing something right. Just to reiterate: If you don't like my story, then don read it, I don't want to read comments about how it should be rewritten, they will be ignored. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Thanks.

The next day dawned, and Hermione woke up to the sensation of heat. She was suffocating in heat, and a moment later she realized why. Her entire front side was pressed firmly into a male chest, her legs entangled in his, and her back and bum held taut against the body by strong, very warm arms. As well as being buried under a mountain of blankets. Add the hot breath on her neck, and there was the final source of her discomfort. That and the pressing need to pee.

Extracting herself from her sleeping husband was a difficult task. He was still snoring softly into the crook of her neck, so she gently reached behind her to move his arms away from her person, and then lifted his head and wriggled away from him before laying his head back down on a pillow. She listened for a second to ensure he was still asleep and was ensured he was when the soft snoring continued.

She got up from the bed and padded across the floor to the bathroom, where she relieved herself of the pressure on her bladder, behind closed doors. Then she stood and looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, leaning on the sink. Her hair was tousled and very frizzy, per usual, but she could see marks all over her skin from the areas he had kissed and nipped at the night before. She looked a mess, and she was sore.

Her muscles ached, and she felt as though she had been torn apart from the inside out, her head was pounding and her neck was cramped from the position she had slept in. She felt as though she had been hit by a train. She was ashamed as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was ashamed for many reasons, first her developing attraction for the man she now called husband, secondly, for the way she behaved last night, she gave in easily and acted like a slag more than she cared to admit, ashamed because she actually enjoyed the intimacy she had shared last night, and ashamed because she felt that after all the events of yesterday that she should have used her status as a war heroine, her Order of Merlin First Class, and her prophet proclaimed title as the brightest witch of her age, to fight more against the marriage law.

She was so angry when she first found out about the law, she was sick and tired of the outdated laws and traditions that the wizarding world held that essentially made them the equivalent of the muggle middle ages. But after all the fighting she had done in the recent years, she just didn't have the energy to fight anymore. She felt horrible about that because if not for herself, the other witches and wizards who were subject to the law.

She couldn't help the tears that streamed down her cheeks, staining the pale complexion, at her heightened emotions, and her thought streams. She was so lost in her mind that she didn't hear the door open or the footsteps that signaled she was no longer alone, until Antonin stood behind her, one arm on each side of the sink, effectively pinning her in place.

He saw her tears, and she noticed his face darken.

"You regret last night then dorogaya?" Antonin's rough voice whispered in her ear.

Did she regret last night? Well, yes, but not in the way he was thinking. It wasn't him, at least not for the most part. She shook her head.

"No, aside from how I behaved like a wanton slag the entire night, I don't regret it. I just hate that this is what my life has come to, that I'm married because The wizengament says I have to be. I'm angry with myself because I should have done more to fight it," Hermione confessed in hushed tones, and reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"You hate being married, or you hate that it's me you're married to?"

"I don't know, to be completely honest, I can't just forget the things you did to me during the war and its not exactly things that make me want to be bound to you. But No, I don't object to being paired with you specifically, the whole law abhors me, and I feel that I should have stood for everybody else, instead of pitying my own circumstance." She said, reasoning with him.

"I see," he said almost inaudibly.

Hermione shifted, trying to turn to face him. "If anything, I would think you hate being married to me. I mean, I'm a mudblood after all."

Her Husband's eyes flashed with anger. "Do not, call yourself that." He hissed.

She gasped in surprise at his reaction. "It's the truth, are you not supposed to resent my very existence, instead of marrying me, and touching me the way you did, last night?" She asked him again, blushing when she remembered the feel of his mouth on her skin.

Antonin didn't answer his wife. Instead he crushed his mouth against hers in a hard, rough kiss. His tongue thrusted into her mouth quickly when she opened her mouth in surprise at the sudden assault. She finally kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his waist. His hand reached lower until it came to her bum, reached around and he plunged a finger inside of her, and she gasped aloud in pleasure and in pain because she was so sore there from the size of him and the force of their passion the night before.

Her husband seemed to sense her discomfort, however and broke the kiss with a groan.

"I hurt you last night." He said simply. Hermione wanted to protest that he hadn't, but she didn't want to lie.

"Well, yes, but not in a bad way, I'm just not used to the things we did, and I've only been with one partner before, and let's just say he wasn't really someone I could compare to…." She cut off, blushing furiously. Antonin chuckled at her meaning.

"So I'm quite a bit bigger, than you last boyfriend." He smirked when her flushed cheeks only darkened. "You should take a bath. It will help the soreness. We can talk after that." He said and he ran the bath for her.

"Okay." She said blushing again as she watched his naked form retreat from the bathroom. He smirked as he closed the door to provide her privacy. She then noticed that he had laid some clothes for her on the vanity.

The Bath had been exactly what she needed to relax. It eased all of her sore muscles, cleansed her from the grime that was left over from the night before, and the scent of orange blossom gave her more energy. She had managed to shut off her brain for an hour and just feel the warmth of the water.

She dressed in the just above the knee length, jade colored dress, after a drying charm and running the brush through her hair. Exiting the bathroom, she found Antonin Standing in the common room, dressed in nicer robes, his back to her. She crossed the room as quietly as she could manage and sneakily wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his upper back.

He turned and smirked when she embraced him. Picking her up and carrying her over to the couch before settling her on his lap and wrapping his arms around her.

"We should talk about some stuff," He began and Hermione nodded. "As I'm not a student, I obviously cannot remain at Hogwarts, full-time."

"Do you expect me to leave school?" Hermione asked.

"I would be well within my rights to take you out of school yes, but no, I will not require you to do so. I know that you like to learn. But I want to develop this relationship with us as well." He acknowledged.

"What about Floo?" Hermione finally acquiesced, after a couple of suggestions were made and refused.

"Floo?"

"Yes Floo, we obviously will owl back and forth, but we could arrange for dates and times of mutual agreement and you can either floo here, or I can floo to your home."

"I think that is a reasonable solution." Antonin allowed, before he was too distracted. Hermione had been wriggling in his lap this whole conversation, innocently he thought at first, but now that she had taken to grinding her hips very near to his erection, he had doubts.

The little minx was doing it on purpose. He groaned and made to grab her to pin her beneath him, but she was too fast and darted off of his lap. Before he could get up himself, she had sank to her knees by him, and was reaching for his belt.

As soon as she got it undone and unzipped his pants, his cock sprang free and she leaned forward and kissed the head softly, before giving it a tentative lick. Antonin bit back his groan, waiting to see what she did next.

Hermione didn't disappoint, she slowly took him into her mouth. She couldn't fit all of him into her mouth, but she licked and sucked him in as far as she could.

He tasted like salt, and musk and Hermione moaned around his cock, which caused Antonin to moan himself. He was trying his very best to remain still, despite his instincts to thrust into her mouth and grind his hips. He couldn't stop his hand from reaching out to her hair to hold her head in place however, and when she did she sucked him more earnestly. She reached her hand out a cupped his balls, squeezing one teasingly, and Antonin was done for.

"Dorogaya, if you keep that up, I'm going to come." He spoke through a moan.

Hermione didn't stop though, which surprise him. She wanted to please him, wanted to bring him undone, and so she sucked him harder, a little deeper, and then licked the tip of his cock again. Antonin thrust himself deep in her throat when she squeezed his balls again, and he came.

Hermione wasn't sure how she felt, but didn't really have any choice but to swallow his seed, it was warm, and thick, and tasted bitter, but when he groaned out his pleasure, she knew it was worth it. When she had swallowed the last of his release, she let go of him with a pop and looked up at him hesitantly.

"Fuck, that was good. Where did you learn to do that?" Antonin inquired.

"Ummm, I've never done it before now, but I read about it in a book once, and always wanted to try it." Hermione admitted.

"Fuck, that was perfect for your first time," he praised her, and then Hermione's storm grumbled. "Well, I had better feed you. And you need to make an appearance, your friends were already here looking for you. I sent them away with the promise to bring you to the great hall for lunch. Then we have a meeting with the headmistress."

"Okay." Hermione agreed, but sighed. Her friends were worried and she didn't feel like facing them at the moment, she really just wanted to climb into bed with her husband. He wrapped and arm around her waist and they walked the short distance to the Great Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading, for the rev so far, and all the love and attention from those of you who have followed or favorite the story. I'm surprised and it really does mean a lot. This chapter delves a little bit more into the law itself. Let me know what you think.

Antonin had escorted Hermione to the Great Hall for lunch, but as soon as he had, commented that he wasn't quite hungry and would just walk around the grounds for a while. Hermione knew that this was his tactful way of leaving her alone with her friends, who were gazing at her with worried expressions in their eyes. She crossed the room to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the stares she received from the main population of the student population.

She stood before, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville, with her hands on her hips. "I'm Fine," she scolded the group. "I am fine, I'm alive, I'm intact, the only thing different about me is that I am married."

"Yes, 'Mione, but that's why we are worried. You are married, and not just married, but to him." Ron began and Hermione shot a glare in his direction and he gulped.

"What Ron is trying to say, is that we know that your husband, is not a man you would have chosen freely to hold the position, had you been given a choice." Ginny stated firmly, trying to appease Hermione before she got angry. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of that witch's temper.

"Well, as you may recall, I didn't have a choice. You lot are just lucky because you are attached where I was not, Harry and Ginny will marry after graduation and Ron you and Lavender will probably do the same. I was not in a relationship and therefore seen as a figure who would make a fine experiment for the implementation of this law. Pardon me, for trying to make the best out of my situation." Hermione roared at the group, before she grabbed a plate filled it with a sandwich and some fruit and stomped out of the hall.

She took the opportunity to eat alone, in the library, where she could easily be found, but would be left to her thoughts for a short time at least.

Hermione's thoughts drifted to the law that made her current circumstance what it was. When she had received that letter, she was so angry. She had stormed into McGonagall's office and raged at the headmistress, who had done nothing to deserve it, about finding a way out of it. Then she promptly broke down into sobs. Surprisingly the headmistress had taken it all very well. Instead of responding with discontent and anger as she would have been well within her rights to have done, she simply held the sobbing girl. The next day, a ministry official arrived to speak with Hermione regarding her concerns on the law.

[i] Flashback[/i]

"This law is postivley horrid. Its inhumaine to literally force a population into marriage!" the girl exclaimed.

"Miss Granger," the ministry official hissed, growing with frustration "I assure you, that your plight to put a stop to this law is attempted in vein. The law is passed. You are of age, have been paired and will be married by the end of this month."

"I will not do it," she declared courageously.

"Then I'm pleased to remind you of the consequences for non- action. Please see Article 5, section C, clause 4," responded the icy voice of the official as he pointed to Hermione's copy of the law. He had used the gemini charm to create two copies for the girl and the headmistresses, at some point in the meeting when his first attempt at charming the swots didn't work. It was taking every ounce of patience in him not to show his true Slytherin colors.

Hermione read the clause he referred to.

[i] Failure to comply with the law in any form, will result in a minimum of two years imprisonment in Azkaban, and fines up to 25 thousand galleons. Non-compliance is outlines as Follows:

Direct Refusal to the marriage and the paired match appointed,

Attempts to flee the country

Attempts at self-harm, or harm towards the match

Assisting another witch or wizard in avoiding their own match

If found to be guilty of any of the above charges the witch or wizard in question will be remanded into custody immediately. [/i]

It was there in front of her face, but Hermione still wouldn't see reason.

"There is still the issue of why I was paired with a Wizard who has tried to kill me on more than one occasion!" She yelled out.

"Miss. Granger," the official said with a sigh, "I'm not at liberty to discuss the matchmaking process with you. The law is about reuniting the wizarding world and moving passed the differing views that have segregated our world. As such all matches consist of one former dark follower and one light follower. Your match is no difference. The law also ensures that the population be boosted up from its decline in the recent war. You are trying my patience. You would do well to accept your fate and sign on the dotted line here, or I'll be more than happy to escort you to prison myself."

"Why can't I have more time?" the girl questioned after a long silence and a withering glare. She had finally seemed to acknowledge the fact that she wasn't going to get her way.

The ministry official was relived, he was growing tired of fighting.

"Your status as a war Hermione, has put you on the scope of the Ministry, and the board of the Wizarding Marriage and Families department agreed that your own match and wedding leading of the start of the new law would be the best outcome. "

"That's not fair!" she cried out, hot tears running down her face.

"No," the official conceded, "it is not fair, and for that I am sorry. But you will have to marry. Your only other choice is prison and I doubt that you would choose that."

"I should to spite them all," Hermione muttered, then shuddered at the thought "but no, I don't want to go to Azkaban." She relented, giving up the fight.

"I just need you to sign here, and that will conclude things here. I'm sure that Mr. Dolohov, will be contacting you shortly. He has already agreed to the pairing."

Hermione signed the stupid piece of parchment and then ran from the office, without a word of farewell.

[i] End flashback[/i]

Hermione actually was impressed that it was only a couple of weeks prior that whole meeting took place, it already seemed years in the past.

"Moya Dorogaya," her husband announced his arrival behind her chair with his crisp accent, 'I was looking for you in the Great Hall, only to be informed you left in a huff. Why did you not eat with your friends?" Antonin inquired.

Hermione shrugged, not bothering to glance up. Antonin came around the chair and knelt in front of his wife.

"Hermione," He stated simply, his tone gruff and demanding. She finally glanced up into his piercing blue eyes.

"They upset me." She whispered. Antonin raised his eyebrows, wondering if he should use legilmancy to get answers from his wife, but deciding that the outcome of him doing so wouldn't be pretty. "They upset me with their endless worrying and insensitive remarks and I left." She elaborated.

Antonin, wrapped his arms around his little wife and pulled her close to him in a hug. "You could have come to find me."

"I know, but I honestly didn't mind the solitude for a few minutes either. You don't mind do you?" she explained.

"Not at all. I understand, this isn't particularly an easy situation, I just don't want you to keep your thoughts all to yourself. Please open up to me to." He implored his witch. He worried that if she didn't open up that neither of them would be happy.

Antonin had wanted this witch since he first laid eyes on her. It was in the department of Mysteries, three years earlier, and while her wild hair and cute freckled nose were certainly attractive, it was her power, her bravery and her sassiness that caught his attention and made him want to make her his. Of course they were on opposing sides of a war, and he was under the imperious from that bitch, Bellatrix, and he had cursed her.

Antonin honestly couldn't blame Hermione for being cautious, for not trusting him fully. However, he was pleased that she responded to him, that she was obviously attracted to him, and that her body didn't overthink the past and just lived for his touch.

"Dorogaya, I believe that we have an appointment to keep." He murmured softly in her ear.

Headmistress McGonagall was waiting for the couple to arrive. She wasn't surprised when Mr. Dolohov had requested it, already speculating as to what it was about. It was only natural that a newly married couple would want privacy, which is why she had given Hermione new quarters in the first place, but she assumed that the wizard would want a bit more time than a weekend with his bride before she returned to classes.

She chuckled to herself, amused by the thought of what her brightest pupil would have to say when he voiced his request. She heard the stone door grind as it opened and a moment later footsteps as the couple entered her office.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Dolohov." She greeted.

"Headmistress." Hermione nodded.

"What brings you here?" Hermione glanced up at her question, she had thought that the headmistress had requested the meeting. Upon her discovery of the contrary however she turned her head to scowl at her husband. He smirked at her.

"Ah, Now, I believe you would already know the answer to that Headmistress." Antonin drawled, earning himself a glare from the woman and blush from his bride.

"I have my suspicions, Mr. Dolohov, but if you would care to enlighten us?" The elder witch pursed her lips and looked at him with her strictest face, the one she would use on him when he irritated her when he attended classes.

Antonin was much harder to intimidate now, and he wasn't particularly easy then, so he flashed her is charming grin. "Yes, of course. Naturally, I would request that my wife be allowed a leave of absence from her studies due to her recent status change. As a newly married girl, it is only fair that she be given an appropriate honeymoon."

"WHAT?" Hermione cried out in shock.

"A honeymoon, Moya dorogaya. I believe you are familiar with the concept." He replied to his wife and was rewarded with a deep blush.

"I thought you said you wouldn't ask me to leave school?" The witch accused.

"And I won't my dear. I don't think that 10 days away will have much effect on your studies, considering that you are already ahead of the rest of your class, and said to be the brightest witch of your age."

"Indeed," interceded the Headmistress before the bantering could continue, let the couple argue in private, she had better things to do. "Hermione, your husband is right, you are ahead of your class, taking several more N.E.W.T level courses and already completed the first quarter's worth of reading in each class. You won't be at a loss in your studies. I will Grant this request, and you may leave tomorrow for whatever destination he has planned. I will of course delegate a student to take detailed notes for you and excuse any assignments that may be missed in your absence."

Hermione was flabbergasted at her professor, who knowing how she felt about school and about this marriage would just let Antonin take her away for ten blasted days to do Merlin knows what. She sat there, her mouth agape for a brief second before recovering herself. She supposed the headmistress was allowing this to decrease the risk of Antonin pulling her out of school altogether. Something her husband had made clear that he would be well within his rights to do as a wizard and her husband. Curse the bloody wizarding world and it's backwards, patriarchal society. At least Muggles progressed.

"Fine. If you seem to think it will not affect my studies, Professor."

"It won't my dear."

"The other issue to discuss is visitation rights after the wedding." Hermione stated abruptly, irritated with the man to her right.

"Well that is why you have private quaters, and of course there is Hogsmede which now that you are married and of age is open to visits from you at any time. The weekends you are more then free to go to the private residence of Mr. Dolohov, and for any other nights he can floo directly into your dorm, or you can floo to him. However, I request that you do occupy the castle on most school nights " the headmistress acquiesced.

"That settles it then. Thank you for the meeting headmistress." Antonin spoke.

Hermione rose from her chair then and retreated through the stone door, faster than anyone else could move and without a farewell.

She was already halfway down the corridor when she heard footsteps gaining on her. She picked up her speed to a brisk jog and turned a corner sharply to avoid her husband. She made it to her common room, pleased with herself, for getting away only to have her smile wiped off her face a moment later.

"I can run too, little wife." Antonin panted and pulled her taut against his body. Her back pressed into his chest and his arms tightened on her waist.

"Let me go." She pleaded in a shaky voice.

"Oh no, uh uh, you don't get to play chase and release with me dorogaya. I enjoy a challenge." Antonin spun her around to face him before his lips crashed down on hers in a non to gentle kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

His lips were pressed hard against hers, and Hermione was trying to keep her mouth closed against the bruising intensity of his kiss. She failed, eventually melting into him and his unrelenting persistence and she kissed him back, allowing him the opportunity to press his tongue into hers mouth and caress hers.

Hermione's moan was swallowed by Antonin's lips but as he backed her into the wall and pressed himself against her she could feel his body's reaction to her response. It was poking her in the abdomen.

Antonin broke the kiss. "Stella Flora" he enunciated to the door, Hermione was currently leaning against and the stone passageway opened and if it were not for his hands on her waist she would have fallen backwards in the doorway.

But she didn't because he held her, and when she failed to move into the door, he scooped her up, bridal style, and strutted into the room, before depositing her on the bed.

She crossed her arms across her chest in indignation and scowled at him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You, little wife, were quite rude to the Headmistress." He scolded.

"I don't care." She huffed in response. Antonin chuckled.

"Tsk, tsk dorogaya. You don't strike me as somebody who is impolite, surely you were raised with better manners than that display in the office."

"Well, she, she sided with you!" Hermione pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. She knew it was childish, but she hadn't really expected Minerva to give in to Antonin's demands so quickly. After all, she was supposed to be an ally to Hermione.

Antonin burst into laughter at her remark. "Ah little wife, that she did. But then did you really think I would settle for anything else?" He said between laughter as he laid on the bed next to her.

"No. You are the type of man who gets what he wants," she began and caught his appraising smirk before she quickly caught herself. "But she didn't have to make it so easy for you." A chuckle was her only reply from the infuriating man, before he tugged on her wrist to pull her closer to his side.

"Seriously, If you think I'm going to give in that easy to you, you have another thing coming." She grumbled.

Antonin flipped her onto her back and leaned across her, melding his lips with hers once again. Hermione sighed and lost herself in his kiss, wrapping her arms around him, one hand fisting in his hair and the other dangerously close to his backside. Then as suddenly as the kiss began, he broke it.

"You were saying little wife," he drawled, smirking at her slyly. Hermione instantly knew that he had used the kiss to disprove her earlier statement. She narrowed her eyes at him and jumped up from the bed.

"Why you…" unable to find the right string of names to call him she finished "That's not playing fair." She quickly turned her back on him and stomped into the bathroom. Before she slammed the door closed and locked it she heard him call out.

"I'm a Slytherin love, we don't play fair."

Well, he may not play fair, but she didn't have to give him what he wanted either. He expected her to come out eventually, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She drew a bath for herself, with a ton of bubbles and stepped into the hot, soothing water. No she was perfectly content to stay in the bath, casting a stasis charm on the water to make it last. That way she could stay there all night if she wanted.

Antonin was on the other end of the door, smugly smiling at his win, and biding his time. He thought it was completely adorable that she was sulking in the bath, doing her utmost to stay away from him. She probably thought that she was safe in the little room that he would wait for her to come back to him.

Ah, such a Gryffindor, always underestimating the true attributes of a Slytherin. Antonin was a man who got what he wanted, and well, he wanted her, so he was not above bending the rules, and going after what he wanted.

He would give her some time alone, before completing his little plan. And while he waited he let his thoughts drift to when he found out about the law, a month prior.

[I] Flashback[/i]

Antonin was in his study, sitting at his desk, near the large and warm fireplace. A leather bound book sat on the desk in front of him, and he was just about to turn a page when he was interrupted. Tap. Tap. Tap. He sighed, annoyed from the interruption to his research. He was trying to create a new charm, it was a passion of his. Tap. Tap. Tap, sounded again on the window. Antonin crossed the room and opened the window, allowing the white barn owl to fly in. He took the letter from the leg the bird extended.

It had a ministry seal on it. He opened the letter.

Dear Mr. Dolohov,

As you are already aware, given your position and seat on the wizengament that the new ordinance has passed. It should go without explanation, that despite your position as a member of the wizengament that the law is subject to all witches and wizards between the ages of 17 and 59, without exemption.

Therefore you have been paired with your match and are required to be married by the end of the month. Your high ranking status in the recent war and the high ranking status of the witch you have been paired with on the light side of the war put you in the position to be a prime example of the new law to introduce it to society. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, but the ministry has decided to use your match as the ceremony to implement this new law. We appreciate your cooperation.

You have been paired with Miss. Hermione Granger. Her file is attached with this notice. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.

Regards,

Valerie Greenebrough

Head of the Department of Wizarding Marriage and Families.

Antonin sighed. He had voted against the infernal law, it was madness, there wasn't really any cause for it, but he had been outnumbered in opinion. However, now that the law was upon him, he couldn't help but feel relieved, no, pleased. He was paired with his witch. Not that he had any claim to the girl, but ever since he first saw her he had felt the need to make her his. Then the final battle just increased this desire tenfold, the way she fought so bravely, the hex she sent flying after him, it made him smile. And while he had just resigned himself to the fact that he would never have her, the ministry pairs her to be his young bride.

He would be able to make her his, she would become his witch in every sense of the word. This brightened his day. However he was perplexed as well. His witch, Hermione, she didn't hold him in high regard, and how could she really with the past being what it was. He would have to set off to woo her.

[I]End Flashback[/i]

Antonin glanced up at the clock. He had been lost in his memory for a while and thought that it was high time he set to attending to his wife. His dove. He quickly stripped himself of his clothing and padded quietly across the floor to the bathroom.

Wandlessly and non-verbally he cast the Alohomora charm and smirked when the door unlocked and allowed him to pass through silently.

XXX

Hermione had no idea how much time had passed, nor did she care. Her eyes were closed and she was relishing the feeling of the warmth around her. Suddenly she felt a slosh of the water and her heart filled with dread. Not a moment later, too quickly for her to be able to react, a muscular arm pulled her tight against a very hard, masculine body, and held her there firmly.

She opened her mouth to protest but the only sound she made was a tiny gasp as the man pressed his lips to her neck in fluttering kisses, and his hand slipped down to her center and a finger slipped in. Her gasp gave way to a whine of pleasure.

Quickly she recovered herself. "Did the locked door mean nothing to you?" She clipped angrily.

"Please," Antonin scoffed sarcastically. "Don't try and tell me that this wasn't some kind of game to you. You were going to hide in here until I came to get you, all night if you had to, so that you wouldn't give me the pleasure of you crawling to me. Well, dorogaya, I'm not a patient man. Two hours was long enough for this game. Now I'm here, and I've got you where I want you." He murmured in her ear. As if proving his statement, his fingers drove in and out of her pussy through his speal.

Hermione was panting for breath caught between wanting to be angry with him and the pure pleasure that was building in her. Antonin pressed kisses along her neck trying to find the spot that made her melt. He was successful a moment later and she moaned.

He sucked on her sensitive spot, fucking her with his fingers as he did. In, out, in out, repeatedly until he had her on the edge.

"You like this, dorogaya, you like as I hold you against me and move my fingers in and out of you. Tell me." He commanded.

"I like it."

"What do you like?"

"I like your fingers inside my pussy, fucking me with them." She moaned as he pulled said fingers away. "Oh, please."

"Please what, dorogaya?"

"Please don't stop." She begged. Antonin started up his ministrations once more.

"Who do you belong to?"

"You!" She exclaimed as she reached the peak. Knowing she was on th edge Antonin whispered in her ear.

"Say my name." Came his soothing voice as he finally finally rubbed her clit and Hermione screamed her climax. "Antonin!" She cried out gasping for breath as she came undone beneath him.

"Hmmmm. Good girl. I think we should enjoy this nice bath together, with some strawberries and champagne. What say you, wife?"

"Mmmmm" was the only response be received.

Smirking, Antonin snapped his fingers and pressed a kiss to his wife's temple.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Chapter 5 is up. I realize that it is shorter than the others and I'll try to make up for that in the next update. As it stands I realize also that the last several chapters have all extended through the same day, so I'm going to put an end to the day here and start a new one in chapter six. A huge thank you to all of my readers and to those of you who have left thoughtful reviews. Please leave some feedback and let me know what you think so far.**

A moment later there was a pop and a house elf appeared before them. It was a house elf that Hermione recognized. The creature looked shocked momentarily at the display before her, and Hermione realized that it must be quite the sight for the poor dear to see them naked and in the tub. But the house elf recovered itself quickly and conformed its face into a mask of discretion, Hermione on the other hand blushed furiously on behalf of the elf.

"How can Winky help, Sir and Madame?" the elf squeaked.

"Winky, please fetch us some fresh strawberries and a bottle of your finest champagne. As well as two glasses." Antonin commanded of the elf politely.

"Yes, Sir." Winky said and disapparated with another pop.

Hermione stayed very still and very quiet. Antonin's fingers were still inside of her, thankfully covered by the bubbles. Her face was still flushed from the encounter, and she was trying to remain calm and not allow her husband to know that fact.

Of course, he knew anyway.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about dorogaya. Just a bath between man and wife," He murmured huskily in her ear.

"I'm not embarrassed." She lied. She felt rather than saw his smirk as he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder.

"Yes you are. Don't lie. Your whole body gets tense when you are, so I can _always_ tell."

"Shut up, you're annoying." She huffed indignantly at him. He just wiggled the fingers that were inside of her. She squirmed until a moment later she felt a certain part of his anatomy pressed against her bum.

At that exact moment, Winky reappeared before them and floated over a tray which held a bowl of bright red strawberries, obviously very fresh, and two flutes of champagne.

"Winky brought what sir requested of Winky." The creature squeaked. Antonin nodded his acceptance and Hermione was grateful for his acknowledgment though appalled by his lack of manners. She knew she had to speak up quickly.

"Thank you, Winky." She said right as the elf disapparated with a pop.

She sighed.

"You are the only witch I know who actually thanks the help." Her husband muttered.

"They are beings who have feelings just like us. They deserve proper respect, just like anyone else." She stated crossly.

"I was merely making an observation dove."

"Whatever." Antonin held in his sigh, his little wife was frustrating. He flipped her around to face him in the tub. She was glaring at him. He gave her an amused look, and plopped a strawberry into his mouth. He offered her one of her own.

Begrudgingly, unsure whether or not it was worth it to stay mad at him or to kiss him and have wild passionate sex with him, she took the proffered fruit and bit into it. Before she could even chew it, he was tipping the champagne into her mouth.

The mixture of the two flavors, tart and sweet strawberry and crisp, bittersweet champagne was mind blowing to her. Hermione had never tasted anything quite like it before and found that she rather enjoyed it. This thought alone surprised her because while never trying it herself she had read about it and seen it on film, and always thought it was some cliche, something real people didn't do. So discovering it for herself made her hum in approval.

Little did she know, that Antonin had a plan to make it far more exotic then she was imagining.

"Like that do you, dorogaya?" He cooed. Hermione only nodded and looked at his face, into his eyes. She smiled at him, enticing him. Antonin felt himself grow even harder. He gave her another bite of the strawberry, but instead of following with the alcohol, he took a sip of the bubbly himself. He didn't swallow it though, and leaned forward to kiss her. The moment his tongue touched hers, some of the champagne flowed from his mouth to hers, and she moaned against his lips. Now she tasted the fruit, the champagne and Antonin and the mix of all three was incredibly intoxicating and arousing. Breaking the kiss, she swallowed her mouthful, and then captured his lips once again, grinding her hips into his.

She heard him groan, and could feel him hard, pressed against her, and slipped her hand under the water to wrap around his cock. He deepened the kiss at her touch.

The snogging continued for awhile, the champagne and strawberries already forgotten about, until Antonin couldn't take anymore of the friction and needed to be inside of her.

"I need you, but I don't want to do this here." He whispered against her lips. Hermione slowly rose from the tub, needing him as much as he did her.

He muttered a drying charm over the two of them and followed her to the bed. He kissed her once more, a passionate, possessive kiss and knew that this encounter would be lacking the foreplay. He reached a finger to check if she was ready for him and found her soaked. Hermione whimpered at the gentle caress needing more, needing him instead of her.

"Please," she begged.

"This is going to be quick, dove, well make up for it later." He stated and wasted no more time before thrusting into her.

Hermione groaned and arched her back. Antonin withdrew quickly before plunging in again deep, hard and fast hitting her g-spot, and repeated the move over and over again until she screamed out her climax and he tumbled down the cliff with her. It was the first time they had come together.

As the high ended, Antonin rolled off his wife, and pulled her into his side before covering them with a blanket. She nuzzled his neck for a moment, breathing in his scent.

"Antonin?" She asked a moment later.

"Mmmmm" he replied.

"Don't think for a moment that I'm not still mad at you."

He smiled into her hair and kissed her head. He didn't bother to reply as sleep claimed the couple.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here is Chapter six. As promised, I did try to make this one extra-long to atone for the short chapter in five. I really want to thank the many reviews and favorites I have been receiving from my readers, it means the world and I'm really glad that you are all enjoying the story. This chapter will be a series of flashbacks to the so called honeymoon between Hermione and Antonin, and a sequence of episodes of her return to school.**

Hermione sat at the end of the Gryffindor table in the massive hall. She was alone, save her book, which she was currently 'reading' though it was more just an act. She couldn't concentrate on the words to save her life. The only reason she still had her nose buried inside the large tome was to put on the charade that she was actually preoccupied and allow her to continue avoiding her friends.

Said friends were sitting in the middle of the table, animatedly speaking and laughing, with occasional worried glances in her direction. She was getting frustrated with them, after her return to the castle after her leave of absence, they had flocked to her like vultures with a million questions, accusations and concerns.

Hermione realized that they wanted to make sure she was okay, however, still was rather sore about the fact that they got out of this whole marriage law thing simply because they had serious relationships. Then they stood there on their high horses and looked down on her for trying to make the best out her situation.

Truthfully, Antonin wasn't that bad. He had done nothing to harm her in the weeks since the wedding. He seemed to be more enthusiastic about their union that she was, and she intended to figure out why exactly, but he gave her enough space to work through her feelings. He didn't force her to do anything. He was infuriatingly annoying, his constant smirks and his smugness, and his ability to manipulate her into things frustrated her to no end, but it was also oddly endearing.

She found that in the 10 days where she was completely alone with him, that she had begun to grow comfortable with the older wizard. She didn't completely trust him and she certainly didn't let her guard down around him, but she did think that's he could grow to care for him. And she did desire him, she desired him in a way she had never done for anyone else.

So while Hermione sat in the Great Hall, feigning catching up on schoolwork, her uneaten plate of breakfast in front of her, she let her mind wander to the handsome, dark man she called husband.

 _Flashback_

 _Hermione opened her eyes and was startled to see only darkness. Was she dreaming? No, her other senses were heightened from the lack of sight and she could hear her husband's footsepes as he shuffled around the room._

 _"Antonin?" she called out shakily, frightened. She didn't like not having all five of her senses, and did not appreciate waking up blindfolded when she was alone with him. The fear of what he could do to her was very new._

 _"Good morning dorogaya. It is about time we depart for our destination, but I want where we are going to be a surprise. You don't mind do you?"_

 _"I would have preferred that you asked, instead of waking up this way, but no, I don't mind really." She answered, surprised by the accuracy of her words. She did mind didn't she? Or was it just that she thought she should mind? She was less frightened once she heard his voice and knew it was him in the room with her. His calm voice put her fears to rest, but she did keep her brain on high alert._

 _"Good, then if you would take my hand please, I shall help you up."_

 _"Antonin, I'm not dressed in anything other than my night clothes." She protested, feeling the thin material of her silk negligee with a very low cutline. Funny, but she didn't remember putting that on._

 _"Oh, yes little wife, I know. And I assure you that will not be a concern where we are going." She didn't need to see to know that he was smirking, and she glowered at him but gave him her hand none the less._

 _He led her to the massive fireplace and stepped in behind her, wrapping a strong, muscular arm around her torso. Dropping a bit of powder, her muttered something in Russian and they were pulled from the fireplace and deposited in another._

 _Antonin once again led her by the hand into a drafty room. Hermione shivered against the cold, and then was instantly warm thanks to a simple warming charm and Antonin wrapping his cloak around her shoulders. In the next instant, he removed her blindfold._

 _Hermione blinked at the sudden influx of light, even if it was just flickering torches and candles. Once she could see clearly she was awed by the beauty of the large hall. It was an entrance hall, she could tell, because to her left was a doorway that opened into a small parlor and to her right a hallway which had a fireplace against one wall and a stone path that must lead to other rooms on that level. Directly behind her was a large marble staircase._

 _"Welcome to Dolohov Manor." Antonin breathed in her ear._

 _End Flashback_

Hermione's memory was interrupted by the sudden presence of someone sitting on either side of her.

" 'Mione, look, we want to apologize." Harry said.

"Oh?" she replied questioningly.

"Yes, it was wrong of us to treat you differently because of your recent marriage. We are just worried about you, but we know that you can take care of yourself. We shouldn't have made you feel like we didn't know that. We just wanted to let you know that we are here for you, and that we will keep you safe." Harry continued.

"'Mione, He's right, we didn't handle things great, and I'm sorry. I'm not happy about this situation at all, but it wasn't right of me to treat you like I did because of it. I really can't blame you for wanting to not be miserable." Ron added.

Tears formed in Hermione's eyes. Her two best friends didn't usually apologize about anything, ever, and she was grateful that they were now. But she was still very upset with them.

"I appreciate the apology, you guys, I do. But I need space right now, I will always come to you when and If I need help, but, I'm not going to sit here and pretend everything's okay when it's not. I'm mad at your lack of support, and it will take me some time to get over that." She finally said through tears. She didn't miss that hurt expressions on her friend's faces, but they nodded and left the table leaving her alone again.

She rose from the table and darted from the Great Hall. She hoped that if she made it to class that she would be able to distract herself. The dreadfully dull lecture in her history of magic lesson was not the distraction Hermione had hoped for. So she turned her mind away from the lecture and back to her honeymoon, in an attempt to not overanalyze Harry and Ron's sudden change in attitude.

 _Flashback_

 _"You brought me to your home? I mean, won't I be spending plenty of time here over the coming years? It's an odd location to honeymoon in, but if that's what you want." Hermione found herself baffled by her husband's choice, only to become even more so by his boisterous laughter._

 _"You misunderstand moya dorogaya. This is Dolohov manor, not where we will be living? The Dolohov estate is in Russia little wife. St. Petersburg. This is where I grew up before we moved to England. I currently reside in a much smaller house in Kent."_

 _"Oh. I did not realize." She flushed embarrassed by her initial assumption._

 _"Obviously," her husband chuckled. "But no matter, I wanted to share a piece of my history with you. I am sure that you would appreciate getting to know more about me, as I would about you, and I also wanted a location where we could be alone together." Hermione recognized the double meaning in his explanation. He wanted to whisk her away somewhere they would not be interrupted and could enjoy the pleasure of one another's company, but she was honored that he chose to share such a large piece of himself with her. His ancestral home._

 _"I am, I don't know what to say Antonin. It's very generous of you to share this with me." She whispered, looking into his eyes, after several long moments had passed in silence._

 _"I plan to share a lot more with you, dorogaya. You are my wife, after all." He spoke softly as he stepped closer to her. "Do you want the tour now or…"_

 _"I think a tour can wait husband." She allowed before she even knew she was spoken. His mouth closed in on her own in the next instant and all thinking ceased._

 _End flashback_

"Miss Granger!" exclaimed the seemingly exasperated voice of her professor, jarring Hermione from her daydream.

"Yes Professor Binns?" She called

"Did you have a question for me or were you simply unaware that class ended three minutes ago?"

"Oh. I'm sorry, I was caught up in my thoughts."

"Well do try to be present both physically and mentally the next Class Miss. Granger. It doesn't do to sit there and space out all morning." Scolded the man.

"Yes professor." She said contritely as she hurriedly packed up her belongings and rushed from the room for her next class.

She managed to stay on task in Transfiguration and in Muggle studies, and was greatly relieved when it was time for lunch. Since she had not eaten that morning she was famished and made quick work of her sandwich and soup before darting to the library. She had a free period directly after lunch before her double potions NEWT, and figured that she should utilize the period to actually attempt at catching up on her work.

 _Flashback_

 _The tour of the large manor did in fact wait, a full 24 hours. Once Antoni has pressed that hot kiss to her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in kind, one thing led to another. She had eventually twisted her legs pretzel style around his hips, and attempt to grind against him in their snogging session. He had taken her upstairs and to the master suite, and they didn't leave the room again until past eight o'clock the next night. And only then because she was starving._

 _Following a somewhat large meal, Antonin had insisted that they take a tour his family home. It was quite large, housed the master bedroom suite as well as 12 other guest suites, a nursery, a library, a large study, impressive dining room, a ladies tea room, a ballroom and three private drawing rooms. In the basement there was a potions lab as well. The grounds of the manor were equally extensive, it had acres of gardens, a stunning view of the city's skyline, its own small quiddich pitch, and herb ology greenhouse, and a small lake. Antonin referred to it as a pond, but the size of it was larger than any pond she had ever seen, so Hermione had taken to calling it a lake._

 _The manor was really magnificent. She was sure that it held many more secrets that her husband let on, but appreciated that he did not feel it prudent to include any darker elements the home might conceal._

 _End Flashback_

"Bloody Hell." Hermione cursed under her breath when she realized that she had once again drifted off into dreamland. She was supposed to be catching up on her reading for ancient ruins.

"What's the matter Granger?" a taunting voice called from the chair across from her. Draco Blood Malfoy, fantastic. While she had saved his life, and old blood purities had been let go of for the most part, the end of the war had seldom improved their relationship.

"Nothing, Malfoy. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." She sighed with an eye roll.

"Oh, come on. Do tell. Is Marriage life already treating you poorly? You do look rather perplexed. Hmmm. What were thinking about just then, how your husband is in the sack? Tell me Granger, how is the fucking your pureblood husband? Is it the best sex you've ever had? I'm not sure a little mudblood like you would understand." The ferret continued his relentless teasing, until Hermione had tears in her eyes. Snapping the book closed she ran from the library to get away from him and straight to the third floor girls bathroom.

Eventually she came out and made her way to Potions. It was her last two hours of the day, and she worked diligently on her brewing, alone, ignoring glances from her red headed girlfriend.

 _Flashback_

 _"What else would you like to see today?" Panted the voice of Antonin Dolohov next to his wife. They had just toured the Church of the Savior of the Blood, after they had already done St. Isaac's cathedral. Antonin had underestimated Hermione's resilience when it came to sightseeing, she wanted to study every nook and cranny of each place she went. They had been at it since seven o'clock that morning. And they had not slept much the night before._

 _"The Winter Palace." Hermione stated. "I swear, it's the last place."_

 _"Fine." Antonin acquiesced. It had been his idea to show her some of the city after all. And she really did seem to be enjoying it._

 _End flashback._

She set the bottled potion of Slughorn's desk and retrieved her belongings. She was already halfway down the dungeons corridor hen Ginny stopped her.

"Hermione wait." Her friend called and Hermione stopped walking. She recognized an angry Weasley when she saw one, and really wasn't in the mood to deal with one now.

"What is it Ginny?"

"I think that you should give Ron and harry the benefit of the doubt. They really are trying to help you in this. We all are. Look I know they can be idiotic in their choice of words sometimes, but do you have to be so cold in reply to their attempts to condone for it? I mean really, is it necessary or did you just pick up on a few extra traits from your death eater husband?" The redheaded shouted at her.

"I see that as always, you are so wrapped up in your bigoted opinions, to see that maybe, just maybe, I'm too angry to forgive you lot right now, Ginevra. I needed support, weeks ago, when I found out about the match, and instead you were all too busy with each other to really care what it meant for me, and then too angry when you thought I didn't try hard enough to stop it, and then too worried to see that I've accepted my situation and am trying to move forward. Never once did anybody ask me how I was, or what they could do for me, and right now I'm honestly preferring the company of my death eater husband as you called him who actually seems to care about how I feel about this marriage. It's at least better than fighting my friends on everything." Hermione's voice dripped ice, and rage flashed in her amber brown eyes. She continued her walk back to her dorm, angry and in pain, sobs threating to wrench themselves from her body. She made it back to her chambers and threw herself onto the sofa, and just cried the whole day away.

Sometime later she sat up, wiped her face, and stood to walk toward the fireplace.

 _Flashback_

 _"Dorogaya. It is the last day before you return to school. I would like to show you our home. Would you be up to one more tour?"_

 _"Of course, Antonin. You did say our home is much smaller than this right."_

 _"Indeed."_

 _The couple took a portkey back to Britain and flooed from the portkey station to his, no their, home in Kent. It was a cabin type build, which sat near a forest. The home was much smaller than Dolohov manor, but still quite large by comparison to her muggle home. It had three stories to the lodge. It was made of wood and stone._

 _The main level of the house was made up of a sitting room with a whole wall full of books, much like her common room at Hogwarts, a kitchen, a dining room and Antonin's study. The second floor was the master bedroom, a guest room, and three additional bedroom suites. The third level housed the attic which was currently used as storage, and then the lowest level was the basement where Antonin practiced his charm and curse creations, as well as the house of quarters. There was also a back patio which overlooked a small garden and the land space between the property and the forest._

 _It was a beautiful structure, not magnificent, a little big for one person or even two, but homey and a good size for raising a family._

 _After he gave her the tour, Antonin suggested they go out to eat somewhere as a couple, so they are a late lunch at a restaurant in Diagon Alley. When they returned back to Rosewood Cabin, the name of their home, Hermione leaned in and whispered seductively in Antonin's ear._

 _"Husband, might I suggest that we Christian the bedroom?"_

 _She didn't have to suggest it twice._

 _End flashback._

"Rosewood Cabin!" Hermione enunciated as she dropped floo powder. She arrived moments later in the little sitting room. She padded her way quietly across the carpeted floor to her husband's study. He explained to her that he spent a great deal of his time researching for his spellwork in there. She figured that it was a good starting point. She found him there, sure enough, bend over an exponentially large, ancient looking time. He didn't seem to notice her standing there, and she debated announcing herself as he looked peaceful. His long dark brown, wavy hair hung in his eyes and he wore a solemn expression.

She turned in the doorway deciding to wait for him upstairs, but just as he did the floor freaked rather noticeably.

Antonin jerked his head up, wondering who was there. The elves never disturbed him at night, and he was alert to who might be intruding. When he caught the familiar glance of brunette, frizzy curls, he knew that it was only his witch.

"Dorogaya, I wasn't expecting you tonight." He greeted his wife.

"I didn't exactly plan on coming either. I'm sorry for interrupting your work." Hermione replied in kind, but as she turned back to face him, he could see that she had been crying.

Red streaks adorned her pretty face and her eyes were swollen. It took mere seconds for him to cross the room and pull her into his embrace.

"What's wrong dorogaya?" He asked concerned.

Hermione broke down again at his words and cried into his crisp, whit shirt. When her terms finally stopped again, she noticed the Antonin had moved them to the sitting room and had her on his lap. She told him all about her day and all the encounters that had lead her to him. Antonin grew more and more furious with each passing story. How dare anybody upset his witch.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello Readers. Thanks again for the love and support from your reviews and favorites and follows, I'm so happy to have such a bouquet of supporters, and it makes me happy that all of you like the story. Without further ado here is chapter 7, in which Antonin plots revenge.

The muscles in his back tightened considerably at the same time his eyes flashed in rage. Antonin's little wife was sitting on his lap, face buried the collar of his white shirt, burrowing into his neck, sobbing. How dare anyone make her cry, she was his, and he would protect her. Furious, he waited for an explanation.

His dove finally stopped crying enough to explain exactly what had happened. He struggled to mask his emotions, angry beyond a doubt, but not wanting to unsettle her any further.

She told him about her day at Hogwarts, and as she did, he kept his facial features calm and cool as he mentally plotted his revenge on those that had hurt her today.

First were those two dunderheaded idiots, they had attempted to apologize but it was their idiotic inability to unstick their heads from their arses that had caused Hermione to be so upset in the first place. She had been struggling this whole time, and hiding it remarkably well he mentally praised, because she felt extremely unsupported by her friends, so she had been distancing herself. Then as always, their timing impeccably bad, they waltzed in and offered their condolences as she was finally coming to terms with her situation. He didn't quite understand why that upset her, but just knowing that it did made him angry. He recognized an opportunity for her to make amends with them though.

Then there was the Malfoy prat, Antonin had never liked him, but now had a reason for hexing him within an inch of existence. And he would. The brat had dared to antagonize his dove, knowing full well that, well far from the prude she made herself out to be, that she was shy about intimacy. And what business was their sex life to him anyway.

Finally the red-headed little bitch had done something unforgivable. He could overlook the insult to himself, he was after all marked with the symbol of the followers of Voldemort. He was a death eater, much to his own shame, he had done things, horrible things, under the imperious curse. He didn't deny that he had a past. He also didn't refute the swot's description of his personality, he was ruthless, ambitious, cold, and snarky, there was a reason he was a Slytherin. No, the unforgivable part was the fact that she had compared Hermione to him. Hermione, the brightest witch of her age, intelligent, warm, compassionate, brave and loyal, and one of the saviors of the wizarding world, had been insulted by being referred to as cold and heartless as him, a death eater. The bitch would pay.

Antonin was considering using some of his budding influence with the ministry to convince the department of wizarding marriages and family to include the little chit into a pairing of her own under the new law. He could easily separate her from her precious potter and he knew of several colleagues that would be interested in having possession of her. He smirked evilly to himself before turning his attention back to his wife.

"Daragaya, you have yet to explain to me why you came running home." He cooed in her ear, making shushing sounds as she began to cry again.

"I don't know. I just needed a hug, and you give really nice hugs. I missed you, I guess." She said in reply. She buried her face deeper into the hollow between his shoulder blade and his neck and curled her arms around his lower back. He responded in kind and just held her.

Minutes later, though it felt like hours, Hermione pressed small fluttering kisses to the area her face was buried in, and Antonin sensed a change in her emotions. He noticed that his body also was aware of the change and was standing at attention.

"Husband?" Hermione murmured softly in his ear.

"Yes?" he answered.

"I haven't told you the better parts of my day yet." She said wickedly.

And when she did, he wasted no more time before carrying her into their bedroom.

They were cuddled up to one another in the gigantic bed. Her back was pressed firmly against his chest, and her bum was snuggled against his groin. She had somehow managed to cocoon herself in his embrace, bundled in his arms and her legs entwined in his. It was a perfect snuggle position, she was warm, relaxed and sated, happy.

Just as she was dozing off into sleep Antonin chuckled. "So you really were day dreaming about me then, were you dorogaya?"

She elbowed him sharply in the gut. "It's not nice to tease," she hissed.

"No, but it is fun." She hit him with another elbow and was rewarded with his sharp intake of breath. It had hurt, obviously. She smirked.

"Sleep time, Antonin. I'm tired, and some of us do have classes tomorrow you know."

He was silent, and briefly she wondered if he was mad at her for elbowing him, but when sleep finally claimed her she couldn't really bother to care.

The next morning dawned and Hermione quickly extracted herself from her cocoon, however, not nearly as graceful as a butterfly. There was muffled protesting from Antonin, who tried to pull her back down, but she evaded the trap and jumped up from the bed and ran into the shower.

After she was clean she quickly dressed in her Hogwarts uniform and leaned over the bed to kiss her husband squarely on his lips.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" She said and fled from the room to the fireplace in the den area and made it back to her room right before breakfast that morning.

Hermione was smart enough to not let Ginny know that her words had upset her and knew that meant she needed to make an appearance in the great hall that morning.

The winter air was freezing in the Scottish Highlands and Hermione shivered as she donned a heavier cloak and her scarf. Hermione found it strange that she had already been two month since this whole situation arose. From the time she found out she was going to be married shortly before the Christmas Holidays, until now, two weeks after her wedding. The mid-February air was bone-chillingly cold and paired well with the glares she was receiving from the Gryffindor table. Wonderful she thought to herself with a groan. And to think, she could still be in bed with her husband, warm and… No, no she was not going to let her thoughts go there. She needed to concentrate, exams were not that far off now. She settled in to her lonely and isolated spot at the end of the table and opened her books. She pretended that the furious whispers from her own house didn't faze her in the slightest, but Hermione feared that she couldn't ignore them for long.

Antonin missed the warmth his little witch brought to his bed. She was so soft and sweet and warm nestled into him and he realized that even after sleeping alone for so long, that he slept worse than he did when she was there.

He had tried to ignore the sudden chill to the air and return to his dreams, but it was to no avail. Grunting he sat up and threw the blankets off of him. He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get anymore sleep, and stomped his way into the shower.

He took his time underneath the hot spray. First he was waking up bemusedly thinking of his witch and the things they had done, before remembering all the events of the previous day. Especially the ones that made his dove run into his arms. Even the relaxing flow of heated water couldn't lighten his mood at that point.

As he dressed himself in his robes he plotted his vengeance, and when he had finished, disapparated to the ministry to speak with the head of the Department of Wizarding Marriage and Family. The witch in charge was a former, well, conquest of his, from their school days. Putting on his most charming smile, he sauntered into her office as if no time had passed between then and now.

"Valarie Greenebrough, are you not a sight for sore eyes!" He exclaimed in greeting. The younger witch, lifted her eyebrows in surprise at first, suspicion flashed briefly in her eyes, but then she was only a Hufflepuff, so catching site of her smile melted any doubts she had. Antonin watched, reigning in his instinct to smirk and laugh, as he literally saw her bend to his will. One smile, and this witch always would give him exactly what he wanted.

"Mr. Dolohov. How is you recent marriage treating you?" The witch giggled.

"My wife is beautiful and I find that I am resigned to living out the rest of my days with her. It's not been unkind. I'm not here about that though." He replied.

"Oh?" Her tone shifted as she wondered what had brought him to her office. "What can I help you with then?"

"I need a favor," Antonin started and went on to explain exactly what he had plotted in his heads.

About an hour later he walked out of the office a smirk plastered on his face. When he returned home he was greeted by none other than Rabastan Lestrange.

"I got you owl. What did you want to talk about?" The man grumbled.

"Hello to you to Bas," Antonin mimicked his friends tone. "Actually, I think what I have to say will be of great interested to you. But first a drink, yeah?" Antonin crossed over to his stash of fire whisky.

Pouring two glasses of the amber liquid, a shade that matched his dove's eyes, Antonin mused, he sat down to explain to the younger wizard the exact nature of his revenge.

"You know that I've been recently married, right?"

"Yeah, never though you would settle down, but you got yourself a ripe young pony there." Rabastan jested. Antonin chose to ignore his implicit description of his wife, for now.

"Yes, well, I find that I quite enjoy being saddled," he quipped back "I wonder though, How would you like yourself a young little witch yourself?" Rabastan eyebrows raised as he lifted the glass to his lips, Antonin caught the hint of a smirk.

"I suppose it doesn't quite matter, because I'm going to get one anyway. 36, remember. Marriage law pertains to me."

"Yes, but I may have been able to bargain with our old friend Valerie Greenebrough." Antonin related, giving the other wizard a pointed stare. 

"The Hufflepuff? I heard she headed up the department in charge of this whole mess." The younger man smirked in realization, and visualized some past encounters he had had with the witch.

"The very one, and she does indeed. I may or may not have charmed her into a match I think you will be quite pleased with."

"Who?" Rabastan inquired.

"I'm not telling you until you answer my question." Antonin refused.

"Yes, I'd love a young one myself, happy? Now tell me." He commanded.

"Ginevera Weasley." Antonin acquiesced to his friends demand, and waited until he pondered his brain for a mental picture. He always had been one to visualize, and Antonin knew that he had quite the thing for the young redhead since he had first seen her. Rabastan's darkened eyes and glassy look told Antonin that he did in fact know exactly who she was.

It was the only answer Antonin needed, but the other man gave him a verbal response as well.

"Oh, I have plans. Give me that one and I'll be forever in your debt."

"Good, because you will be marrying her by the end of the month." Antonin announced and the answering grin he received was as cold as the one their former master would have given. Antonin didn't want to know anymore of his friends plans for the bitch, it was no longer his problem.

"Thought she was engaged to Saint Potter though. How did you manage to pull that off, and more importantly why would you?

"She is, but even she can't fight the will of the law, I'm sure you will have to deal with the fury of breaking up her dream marriage, and I'm certain you will have the boy to content with, but as I said, they are powerless to the will of the wizengament. She is yours. And as to why, the bitch insulted my wife. I don't take to kindly to that, and I can get a little revenge while helping out an old friend. Win-win in my book."

"Indeed." The other man responded and finished off his whisky. Antonin did the same, relaxed now that his plans were coming to pass. Plans that his Hermione never had to know about.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey lovely fans, wow this story really seems to be hitting it off with you guys and I'm so pleased. Just a couple of Thank You's to all of you who are reading, reviewing and favoriting and following, it means the world. An special big thanks to _Not Romeo's Juliette_ for reaching out and offering to beta the story, it will be great to have a nice new pair of eyes to help me make it even better.**

Hermione had managed to survive her day. There was very little incidences that arose between her and her peers, at least none of consequence, so she just brushed off the whispers and stares and went about her daily routine. She finished breakfast quickly before burying her nose in her book to read ahead for her courses. She didn't have any day dreams about her husband, her honeymoon, or anything, she was her regular studious know-it-all self.

She relaxed a little, she hadn't felt like this in a while, since she found out she was marrying Antonin, if she was honest. She had always seen school and learning as a safe zone, or an escape from reality. Hermione knew that she was plain compared to other girls, that her blood status made her less in the eyes of certain peers, and that she was difficult to be friends with. Her first year was a prime example, she didn't even make friends until Halloween and only then because she had lied for them.

Sure she had fought a war to prove that her blood status was just as good as anybody else's and she proved to be a powerful witch. But she wasn't all that pretty, her hair being her main problem, and she was bossy so making friends had never been easy. School had been a way to channel her frustrations and hurt into a better outcome. What she lacked in friends, and in looks she made up for with facts and intelligence.

Since her finding out about the marriage law she had been subjected to, Hermione had been too stressed, afraid, and angry at the ministry to fully be able to concentrate on her schoolwork. Add to the mix the distance that formed between her few friends because of it and she was an emotional wreck, trying to hide the fact that she was falling apart at the seams. But she knew the truth. So she found it a great relief that she was finally accustomed enough to her new life to be able to concentrate again, and she now channeled her studious nature to escape from the fact that her friends were hurting her and as an escape from her own desire for her husband.

She feared that she actually liked her husband, she felt safe with him, he hadn't hurt her, he was funny, and even sweet if a little temperamental, and he seemed to like her to. There was chemistry that was for sure, and he appreciated her know-it-all self, which nobody ever really had before. But the past was a hard thing to forget, and her husband still bore a mark on his forearm that signified the hate and fear she had spent the last seven years fighting against. She felt she shouldn't like him so easily, shouldn't desire someone who tried to kill her on multiple occasions.

However her free periods for once did not find her dwelling on these thoughts or feelings. She was completely lost in her reading and in her homework that she almost missed dinner. She only realized how late it was getting when her stomach growled and she sighed and packed away her materials before heading for the Great Hall.

She was glad she did, because otherwise she would have missed the mail being delivered, and the Gryffindor table received quite the shock that night.

As the owls flew in, there was one that Hermione recognized, a small brown barn owl, the same one who sent her notice of her own subjection to the marriage law, carrying a letter with a ministry seal. And it dropped in on the plate in front of Ginny. Hermione had a suspicion about what was in that letter, and she felt her complexion drain.

She watched as her friend, if Ginny could still be considered that, neatly broke the seal and unfolded the parchment. She saw as the girl's face redden with rage before she thrust the letter to Harry and turned a fiery gaze to Hermione. If looks could kill, Hermione would have been dead a thousand time over. She half expected Ginny to march over there and hit her with her famous bat-boogey hex. But she didn't. To Hermione's discomfort the girl merely gave her the one nasty look and then stormed from the Great Hall.

She looked to Harry and saw that he looked stricken. Ron looked furious and Hermione's heart sank. Her previous suspicions had been confirmed by the looks she saw from down the table. Ginny had been selected for the marriage law, and Harry and Ginny were officially broken up by one order of the Ministry. But Hermione knew that this was not the doing of the Wizengament, because there had been assurance in place in the legal document that stated established and serious couples would not be affected by the law so long as they intended to marry before they turned nineteen.

No, this scenario had Slytherin written all over it, and Hermione only knew of one Slytherin who would go to such lengths to make something of this magnitude occur.

Hermione was torn, on one hand she found herself strangely pleased that Ginny got to feel an ounce of the pain she felt, and would be subject to the same things she was. On the other hand, Harry was one of her best friends, and he was heartbroken and that was something Hermione was just not okay with, She also wasn't okay with the fact that Ginny's plans for her life were being ruined even if Hermione was mad at her and wanted Ginny to understand what she had gone through. It wasn't fair to have your dreams torn from you so suddenly and easily without a care, and Hermione didn't wish that upon anybody.

Slowly, so as not to draw attention to herself, Hermione rose from the table and walked out of the hall to her own chamber. She felt her temper growing with each and every step, and practically threw down the black floo powder as she stepped into the fireplace headed for Antonin.

When the green flames cleared and she stepped out, she wasted no time bursting into her husband's study. She noticed the half full glass of fire whisky on his desk where he sat scribbling madly on a parchment.

He looked up when she opened the door with a loud bang, annoyed and then confused to see her standing there. His wife was still dressed in her school robes, her hair was wild, almost ablaze with energy, and it seemed to be alive almost. Before he could get a word out, she was standing across his desk from him leaned over, giving him quite the view of her cleavage from her top buttons on her blouse being undone, with her finger pointed in his face.

"What did you do?" She hissed at him, her voice icy and her eyes cold. An angry Hermione was quite the sight indeed, and Antonin couldn't help but begin to feel aroused. He smiled indulgently, and raised his eyebrows playing coy.

"Why Dorogaya, I haven't an inkling as to what you are talking about." He said.

"Don't even go there with me, Dolohov. I am not in the mood. What did you do?" Hermione continued to rage at him and her face began to flush with her anger.

He continued to feign innocence and smirked. "Well, if you so sure that I did something, kotenok, why don't you tell me what my crime is."

"Enough with the nicknames, sweet talking will not get you out of this!" His witch exclaimed, and banged her fist on his desk. "You got Ginny involved with the marriage law, and effectively broke up my best friend's relationship." She screamed.

Antonin felt his blood run cold at her words, but needed to play it cool, so willed himself not to give any physical reaction to display his fear. How did she know? "The Weasley brat is being included in the marriage law?" He coaxed as if surprised. He saw the irritation and fury flash in Hermione's eyes.

"You disgust me Antonin. You will honestly just sit there and pretend you don't know anything about this? I mean come on, I know you are Slytherin and all, but I didn't peg you for being that much of a coward." She harped on him, and he could feel his ire rising. Struggling to remain calm he breathed out sharply.

"Fine, yes I used my considerable ties to the department and the Wizengament to include Miss. Weasley in the match process." He confessed, hating to see her so hurt. He should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep this a secret from her.

"You had no right!" his wife argued with him, her tone of voice sassy and her voice raised. Antonin felt his patience shrivel up and die and his infamous temper consumed all other emotions. He leaped up from his desk chair and towered above his little witch.

"Yes I Did! You are my wife, Mine. And it is my duty to protect you." He bellowed at her and crossed the side of his desk so that he stood mere inches from her smaller frame. He crashed both of his fists down on the desk on either side of her, and used his long, lean legs to push her into the desk. As he pounded on the desk his whiskey spilled over the side of the glass on to the polished cherry wood.

"You don't own me." She simpered, her temper deflating when matched with his, he was terrifying like this and it took all of her Gryffindor courage not to quake before him. She'd be damned before she gave him the satisfaction. He felt the fight go out of her and it was enough to quell is own anger. He didn't want her to see him as a monster.

"No. No I don't own you kotenok. But you are my wife, and it is my job to protect you. The girl insulted you, your name and your honor, and I don't take kindly to that. So I did the only thing I knew to do. I got even." He mumbled.

How could she be angry with him after those words? She couldn't not really. Disappointed by his actions, yes, but now that she saw the intention behind them, whatever anger she still held onto slipped away from her, and she looked up at him with sad eyes.

"It was a really, shitty thing to do." She whispered when her eyes met his piercing blue ones. And then she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest.

"I know." He replied and returned the embrace for a moment. Then he tipped her chin up looked into her eyes which were tearing up, and he crashed his lips down on hers.

The kiss was a dominant one, and he took no quarter, all of that pent up anger faded into a hazy desire for them both, and he took it out on her lips, melding his tongue with hers, biting on her lower lip and crushing his face against hers. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if she had light bruising around her lips the next day, but she didn't fight him off, needing this as much as he did.

Minutes later he broke the kiss. They were both breathing heavily. He stepped away from her to pour himself a drink. Their first fight may have been arousing and that kiss intense, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to go beyond that tonight. At least not until after a long discussion. He poured her a glass of the amber liquid as well. She took it without saying anything and slunk down into one of the chairs by his desk.

As she took a sip of the liquid she finally asked him, not viscously or angrily but curiously. "So tell me exactly what you did."

"Not until you explain to me exactly how you knew I was involved." He countered.

She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his views once again to the delicately beautiful swell of her breasts, and gave him a pointed look.

"Puh-lease," she began drawing out the word dramatically. "What do you take me for an idiot? I knew you had something to do with it because firstly I recognized both the owl and the seal on the letter, so I knew what it was, then I watched as Ginny read the words and her face turned redder, before she gave me the meanest, accusatory glare in the world, and I just knew that the whole scene reeked of Slytherin antics. Then I thought, who, just who, would go to such lengths for revenge and what did anybody have against her? Then I remembered." She rose her eyebrows and looked at him sharply, her stern gaze reminding him of his mother. The two were very much alike.

"Ah. Well I don't think I need to guess who you deduced was responsible then. I suppose that you might care to know that I simply marched into the ministry, spoke with Ms. Greenebrough whom is an acquaintance of mine, and charmed her into seeing things my way. She agreed quickly, and sealed the girl's fate to Rabastan Lestrange. Don't worry though, Daragaya, Lestrange has always had a little crush on the redhead. He likes them with a little spirit. And He won't hurt her, Rabastan is above hurting women."

"Why did you do it in the first place?" Hermione questioned.

"I believe I already explained why. I protect what I consider to be mine, and you are my wife. I'm a possessive man, dorogaya, and I may not own you, but that doesn't mean I won't still go to great lengths to protect you. It doesn't mean I don't still consider you one of my most valued treasures. Because you are." Antonin informed his young wife, as he paced the width of his office, agitatedly.

"Look, I get why you wanted revenge, I'm not arguing that, what I want to know is why you got even the way you did," She wondered aloud.

"Oh, that is simple really little wife. She insulted your honor by comparing you to me, your husband, and pointing out to you that you had no choice in the law. I know that I may not be what you wanted, being forced to marry me because of a law was very difficult for you, and while I like to think that you are growing to like me, I do still understand your feelings on the matter. She threw it all back in your face to the point that you came running into my arms because you had nowhere else to go. I returned the favor to her, so that she can know what it was like for you, and so that she can know exactly what will happen if she ever uses it against you again." Antonin revealed his own understanding of why. Truth was he didn't really know the exact reason he had plotted against the girl in this way, he hadn't stopped to think about it. Antonin had never had to explain his actions to somebody like this before, and he found that he was inadequate in his explanation. But Hermione nodded, seeming to accept his response.

"I see. Well I just wish that you had paused to consider the fact that you were hurting more than one person in this. You tore apart my best friend's relationship." She clipped gently but a little sourly. He actually sensed her disappointment and it made him feel things he wasn't quite comfortable with, but he was a stubborn man. And he told her as much.

"I'm not going to apologize daragaya. Because I don't really give a bloody damn about Saint Potter's relationship. I care about you." He stated adamantly.

"I know. I'm not asking you to. Not really." She retorted. "I just don't know how I'm ever going to make amends with them." She mused.

"Kotenok, you have nothing to be sorry about, because it wasn't you who did anything wrong, I did. They couldn't possibly be angry with you." He implored of his wife.

"Oh I assure you they are very much angry with me, rightfully so or not, they are. And honestly, I don't blame them. If I hadn't gone running to you in the first place none of this would have happened." She insisted and then downed the last of the alcohol from her glass in one gulp. Antonin didn't have anything to say back to her, instinctively feeling guilty for making her bear the cross of his actions.

He didn't know how to comfort his wife, and Hermione seemed to know that, and she smiled at him sadly, but a smile none the less. Then she stood from the chair, reached up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight Antonin." She choked out, holding in a sob, and left him standing in his office watching her go. A minute passed and he heard the floo flare to life in the otherwise silent cabin. She had gone for the night, and the weight of the evening came crashing down on him. The Russian man, sank into his desk chair and allowed the flood of emotions rush through him, as he downed glass after glass of Ogden's finest and tried to sort through them all.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks again to all my fans out there. For those of you who don't already know I've started a new fic Dangerous Little Games featuring Thorfinn/Hermione. I will be regularly updating both stories so I encourage you to check it out. I just want to thank Not Romeo's Juliette for beta'ing this story. Here is Chapter 9.

Hermione opted out of attending breakfast the next day, instead requesting that Winky bring her a small plate of something so she could at least start her day off right. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to face Ginny. She didn't to be honest, but it was not the only reason for not appearing in the Great hall that morning. After the night she had, her first disagreement with her husband she returned to her dorm upset and an emotional wreck.

She really just didn't have the energy to have a confrontation with anybody that morning, Ginny least of all, but she was sure she would face some questions she couldn't answer from Harry and Ron as well. She thought it best to wait for at least a free period to handle it all.

Keeping her head low she made it through her morning, she didn't speak to anybody, and she took notes and tried to focus on the lectures alone.

When it came time for Lunch, she knew that she had to get it out of the way and talk to her friends. She was making her way up from double potions to the main level of the castle, when she saw a certain redhead dart into the bathroom.

Well If Ginny wasn't going to lunch the situation was really bad. Sighing to herself and mustering up all of her courage she followed the girl. She was greeted by the sound of violent sobbing from the third stall in an otherwise silent lavatory.

Hermione wordlessly cast a mufilato charm to block out the other students from hearing the conversation before warding the restroom from any other girls from entering. Then she hesitantly called out. "Ginny?"

The sobbing stopped and a moment later the door to Ginny's stall burst open and the redhead came through face contorted in rage and wand raised at Hermione.

"You!" the girl said coldly, eerily calm despite her facial expressions. Hermione had come prepared for Ginny to hex her and frankly she would allow it this one time. But not before trying to talk some sense into her friend.

"Yes, me. Look, Ginny I didn't have any part in this." She said calmly. Her only reply was the wand coming closer to her face. "Gin, I didn't know I swear, if I had…"

"I know." The other witch said and lowered her wand, before her body began to shake. "I know you didn't 'Mione. I'm not mad at you honest. It's just I see you and all I can think when I see you though is ending up in your place."

Hermione nodded and replied. "I wouldn't wish this on you."

"I know." Ginny wailed and began sobbing again. Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend and made shushing sounds. "I don't want to marry a deatheater!"

"I know, I don't want that for you either. I'll do what I can to stop it." Hermione promised.

"You can't stop it. The worst part is that Harry is right, we can't fight against a law." Said the other girl through her tears.

"Harry said that did he?" Hermione said, getting angry. She was confronted once more with the fact that he best friend was not supportive of what his supposed loved ones were going through.

"He broke up with me." Ginny informed her on a shaky sob in which her voice cracked. And Hermione nearly lost it. "He said that there was no point in fighting against the law, that it was pointless and he even wished me the best of luck."

She could handle Harry's lack of support for herself, but this was Ginny. Ginny who despite her fire was somehow more sheltered and sensitive than Hermione was. It was Ginny, who was more than just a friend to harry, she was his bloody Fiancé for crying out loud. And within 16 hours of receiving a letter he threw it all away.

"I'm going to kill him." She muttered and held the younger witch tighter.

"No, don't." Ginny said. "Honestly, It's not the first time he's left me to do something more important. He dumbed me before the war after all to protect me he said, but still. I think that maybe he is just showing his true colors. He doesn't love me I don't think."

"Ginny, don't think like that. He does love you." Hermione assured.

"No, I don't think he really does. He cares about me sure, but I think he just sees me as an extension of Ron, I'm more a friend than anything to him. And it was convenient to be with me, because I loved him, and he's too nice to hurt me, but then he just did, so what does it matter."

"I', still going to kill him," Hermione restated.

"You know that they are pairing me off with Rabastan Lestrange. Did Dolohov have anything to do with that?" Ginny asked.

Hermione assessed how best to answer it, Antonin had been responsible for the whole mess. "He told me last night that Lestrange has always had a crush on you. Apparently he likes feisty redheads and he admires that about you."

"Really?" Ginny seemed to be sobering up more and more each minute, and she piped up when Hermione told her. "You mean he doesn't want to hurt me?"

"No, I don't believe he does. You have to remember Ginny that he may have been a deatheater but his wretched sister-in-law had him under the imperious curse the whole time. Give him a chance, yeah?"

"Okay." Ginny agreed. "'Mione, don't let what harry did ruin your friendship. I still want things to be as much the same as possible. If you hate him it will only make things worse."

"I don't hate him, Gin. I'm just so disappointed in him. I promise that I'll try to make amends, but not before a give him an earful and a good kick in the rear." She said with a laugh, and both witches burst into giggles.

The lunch hour was drawing to a close, and with one final hug and a reestablished friendship, they departed for transfiguration.

"Ginny, Just know that I'm here to support you through this."

"I know. And I'm sorry for what I said the other day. And for not being a rock for you to lean on when you went through it all. I'm here for you now."

"I know. Let's get to class." Hermione said.

Hermione had been shooting daggers at Harry for the rest of the afternoon. It wasn't until after dinner that night that the wizard sought her out in the Library.

"What did I do?" he asked the witch. "You've been giving me dirty looks all day." He accused.

"Yes, I have. And you know damned well what you did harry. Really, you broke up with Ginny. Really?" She said in hushed tones, struggling not to raise her voice. They were in the library, so she couldn't be too loud.

The wizard groaned in frustration. "What the bloody hell do you suppose I do? She is engaged to another man, by order of the law."

"You really are an idiot sometimes harry." Hermione retorted angrily. "For Merlin's sake, you should have stood by her, fought for her, and at the very least supported her through this. Instead you threw in the towel and gave up."

"I don't know how to support her," Harry confided. "Hell, Hermione I didn't know how to support you through it and it didn't even bloody involve me. She was my girlfriend, and this ripped my plans apart to."

"I know Harry, but Ginny thinks that you don't love her, that you never really saw her more than Ron's sister."

"Honestly, I don't think I really did. I love Ginny, but I'm not in love with her." He admitted forlornly.

"Well this isn't how she deserved to find out," Hermione scolded. "She deserves better than that."

"I know that!" Harry exclaimed madly. "I would have told her eventually, but the letter gave me an out and I took it."

"Well it was a shit move and you owe her an apology and the truth. She deserves a chance at happiness not to pine after you."

"Why did the ministry change their mind anyway?" Harry asked.

"Antonin pulled some strings he had and got Ginny involved because she insulted me the other day. And before you start, I already gave him a piece of my mind about it. But you try anything harry potter, and I will stand by my Husband. He was trying to protect me. I told him how royally pissed that made me. So believe me he knows."

"Well Fuck," harry said, "I won't lie and say that I'm not mad at him, but if he had to deal with your rage I'm sure that is punishment enough for a bloke." The wizard finished and laughed. Hermione shook her head trying not to laugh herself.

"You realize that with Ginny now paired up and your relationship null and void that you are going to be subject to the law as well," Hermione started but harry cut her off.

"We'll deal with that as it comes. It's a mess for sure, and one I never expected but I've made a fool of myself so I can't say I don't deserve it. Hermione, I'm sorry that I didn't stand up to the ministry with you, for you against this. And I'm sorry for making you feel like we treated you differently because of your new name. Can I just ask, are you happy?"

"I think I can be, Harry. Really, I do. I think I could even fall in love with him." She confessed. The first time she had even thought about it she realized that it was true.

"I'm glad." Her best friend said with a smile and hugged her. "I'd best go find Ginny and talk to her."

'Yes you had best. Just promise you will be there to support her from here on in and I promise I won't hex you into oblivion." Hermione said and grinned. She watched her friend leave before she returned to her book.

And hour later she had finished her charms essay and the next chapter in the text for Defense, and was returning to her dorm.

"Stella Flora" she whispered the password and the stone door parted. When she stepped through the door she saw him.

Antonin was sitting on the edge of her bed, face paler than normal, with seriously dark circles under his eyes, hair disheveled and clothes dirty. He looked up at her when he heard the door open.

"What the bloody fuck, Antonin. What happened?" She asked concerned.

"You tell me." The wizard whispered evasively.

"You're the one who looks a fright. You tell me." She insisted.

"I didn't sleep last night dorogaya." He said simply. "I drank most of the night because you left and you were so mad at me. And I've been here now for hours thinking you'd at least stop before dinner, but you didn't and…" her husband didn't continue his ramble but it was clear to her that he was obviously worried about her. "How was your day wife?"

"My day was good actually. I made amends with both Ginny and with Harry. So I'm not dead and they don't hate me like I thought. They might be a little sore with you though." She admitted solemnly.

"I told you they wouldn't be mad at you."

"So you did, so you did. Now we should probably get you cleaned up. You really do look a ghastly." Hermione admonished and leaned in to kiss him on the lips chastely. "Shall I draw you a bath?"

"Only if you intend on joining me." He stated and drew her closer to him before melding his lips to hers in a much more passionate kiss than what she had given him.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'd really like to take a moment to appreciate Pgoodrichboggs, Sparky She-Demon, Arctic Raspberry, lilikaco, and Padfootsnuffles for sticking with the story and leaving more than one review, it really means so much to all of my fans that have read and reviewed, and these are just to name a few. And of course a special thank you to Not Romeo's Juliette who is my second pair of eyes and an amazing beta. And I won't keep you waiting any Longer. Here is chapter 10. It contains some smut at he nd because I know I've kept you waiting far to long...**

* * *

The coming weeks blurred into months in the dizzying rush towards N.E.W.T.'s and soon the examinations were upon the graduating seventh years. Hermione was overwhelmed with studying for her nine, yes nine, N.E.W.T finals, and as such was her usual snappy, bossy, know-it-all self.

Her friends, who she was once again on speaking terms with were used to this side of her, it was only her typical behavior when faced with the end of year tests after all, and while she could be a particular terror at times, they had years of distinguishing her moods.

Antonin on the other hand was ill prepared for the demon his little wife had become. The couple had fallen into a comfortable routine with each other, He would visit her at Hogwarts three nights a week and she would come and stay with him at their cabin on most weekends.

They had of course had petty squabbles about things, which the dark wizard made damned sure ended in fantastically steamy make-up sex. Hell that was why he instigated most arguments in the first place. His witch was so sexy when mad, and was quite a bit more ferocious in a bout of post argument lovemaking.

However he had never seen her at exams, and he was exhausted just observing her. She had spent the last weeks in the library in literally all of her free periods, during her meals even after grabbing a quick plate to prevent starvation, and until it closed at night.

She spent hours after that still up in her own chambers reading furiously. When Antonin had merely suggested that she take a break to get some much needed rest one night, the little witch had nearly bitten his head off. He had actually flooed back home that night out of fear she might murder him while he slept.

He breathed easier knowing that at long last the practical's were upon the students and that his witch would be back to normal soon. He had known that she was very serious about her studies, he had just never expected that she went so insane when faced with the finals. He blamed the amount of N.E.W.T's she had selected, he himself had only taken five, but had been informed rather obnoxiously by the weaslette that she was in fact this frightening every year at finals and that it had nothing to do with the amount of work she had created for herself.

He still hadn't forgiven the redheaded for her insulting his wife, and she seemed mutually unforgiving about his involvement in her engagement. However despite those facts they both were civil to each other for the sake of Hermione.

Hermione refused to speak to Antonin about the whole mess that was the swot's new relationship. She said it was because she was respecting her friend's privacy, but he knew it was because a part of her was still sore with him for getting involved. And he was not ever going to apologize for something that he felt was protecting his young wife.

Antonin of course discussed the progress of his own friend's engagement with Rabastan, not one to like being kept out of the loop. According to the other wizard, weaslette seemed to be receptive to his owl's and perhaps even amenable to the idea of courting him.

Antonin was relived, while he may not like the witch, he knew that he had acted rashly and was glad that he wasn't cursing his friend to a miserable marriage or ruining a little girl's whole life by pairing her with somebody who disliked her. He wasn't heartless, cruel and cold, yes, but not heartless.

The wizard took great glee in knowing something else that his wife did not, and that was his revenge against the Malfoy bloke. He had created a nasty but otherwise harmless jinx that caused swelling which he had happily sent in the direction of the boy's private parts when he noticed him one day in Hogsmede waiting for Hermione. The hex had the effects he had wished, a full 24 hours of swelling and discomfort that was quite noticeable to his peers, but once the clock had completed a full cycle the effects wore off and the boy was completely fine. Just embarrassed.

Antonin would not be telling his wife about that one.

* * *

The week passed surprisingly quickly for them both. Hermione had banned him from her floo for the week, explaining that she would have no distractions, and agreeing to let him through Friday after her last exam. Hermione had missed the presence of the man beside her in her bed, she had grown quite accustomed to his warmth and snuggling into his embrace. The bed felt cold with him gone, so she spent as little time in it as possible.

Her shoulder's sagged when she handed in her last exam. It felt bittersweet. On one hand she was starting a new phase of her life, would be able to work on her relationship, and the roughest week of her entire life was finally over, but she knew that this was it. Assuming she did well, which she wasn't worried about of course, she was a graduating student. This next three days would be her last at Hogwarts.

Hermione returned to her dorm and dropped the wards around the floo. As if on cue, the fireplace roared to life and out stepped her handsome older husband. His hair was long and falling in his face, and he was unshaven, but when he saw her his entire face lit up.

"Pchelka, How I have missed you!" beamed Antonin. The he scooped Hermione into a tight embrace, holding her taut against his chest and pressing his lips against hers.

He stopped a moment later when she giggled and gave her a dirty look. He had not been able to touch her in over a week, and more over had not seen her in a week, he was not going to waste another moment. He wanted his wife, and he was determined to get her naked, fast.

"I'm sorry 'Tonin, it's just well your beard you see, it tickles, is all." She said between fits of laughter. He grumbled at her in reply, and moved to kiss her again but she twisted away at the last moment and his lips met her cool cheek.

"You're killing me here witch." He growled playfully, yet still feeling shorted. He received a soft, chaste kiss as her lips pressed against his and her hands roamed to squeeze his butt.

"Why don't we get you shaved, and then we can get down to business?" She said and gave him a cheeky smile. He didn't want to shave, he wanted to kiss her. He pouted and slowly his wife raised her wand to point in his face. He wondered fleetingly if he should be scared. A second later he felt a tingling sensation on his face and raised his hand to his chin. He was pleased to discover that his facial hair had vanished. Hermione jumped him a second later and he was pulled into a searing kiss.

The kiss wasn't gentle, but it wasn't harsh. It was demanding and insistent as she pressed her lips to his and nipped his bottom lip to encourage him to open up. It was passionate and forceful as she darted her tongue in and melded it with his when he allowed her entry. It was dominating and needy as her body pulled him closer to her and she arched her back to grind herself against him. The kiss had him groaning into her mouth.

Antonin let his wife play for a minute, relishing the feeling of the kiss, but he eventually backed her into the wall and pinned her there, claiming control for himself.

How badly he wanted to vanish their clothes and enter her and relieve himself of the tension he had pent up. It had been too long since he last touched his dove. But he was determined to go slow, to draw this out, to give her a taste of what he had gone through this week. There was only so much a wank can accomplish and he needed her to know that it was unacceptable to wait this long to have him.

So patiently he stripped her of her robe, and began to unbutton her shirt. When he broke the kiss, and traded her lips for her neck seeking her small pleasure spot and sucking on it when she moaned. He removed her white Oxford and pressed kisses down to the tops of her cleavage. She was wearing lingerie, obviously as hard pressed for this night as he was. He hooked his fingers in the back of the black lace and caressed her back. She shuddered in anticipation. He slowly unclasped the bra and lowered it from the shoulders.

She reached out to remove his shirt but he gave her a stern look and lowered her hand back against the wall. The evidence of her blush adored the normally pale flesh of her chest. He took her right breast in his hand and fondled it, pleased when her pink buds tightened in his hold. Her left nipple he took in his mouth and sucked hard, eliciting a cross between a moan and mewl. He sucked harder leaving his mark, before kissing and biting other areas of the mound.

At some point, when he had gotten tired of her breasts he removed her skirt, stockings and shoes. His little wife stood before him in only a black thong, of material that matched her bra. He stepped back and made a sound of approval and hazy desire low in his throat before removing his own shirt. He leaned in and kissed the witch again. She tipped her head back to give him full access and he took advantage. He lifted the witch up and carried her to the bed. Setting her on the edge he knelt before her. He kissed her stomach, her belly button, inching his way down. He nipped and sucked on her thighs and he stroked her center through the flimsy panties.

"Fuck Antonin." She hissed when she felt his caress there, she needed more. He obliged, pulling her thong down and off of her and nuzzling her wet core. "Oh please" she begged.

Antonin smirked against his witch, who made the mistake of reaching for his head he pulled away and crossly eyed her before wandlessly casting the body bind curse on her hands, tying them up above her head. Only then did he press a kiss to warm, pink nether lips and repeating the gesture.

Hermione wiggled beneath him and panted. He spread his witch out to feast on her, separating the folds and pressing his lips to the center between them. He darted his tongue out to lick up the juice there that showed her desire. He darted his tongue into her and set a pace that would soon be repeated when he fucked her.

Thrusting his tongue in and out he fingered her clit, delighted to hear her moans of ecstasy. He waited until she was just on the brink and then stopped.

"Oh please, Antonin. Please " Hermione cried.

"Mhmmmm. You are delicious." He murmured and began lapping at her again, thrusting two fingers inside her and stroking her over an over. It didn't take long before she clenched around his fingers and came with a shout. He continued to lick the nectar as she came undone.

When her first climax faded Antonin rose and removed the rest of his clothing. He positioned himself above his wife and kissed her, loving having her taste her own desire. He pressed his unpleasantly uncomfortably hard member against her folds and stroked himself against her, but not entering her. He craved the heat doing so would provide, but was enjoying the way Hermione was wriggling and moaning beneath him too much to stop.

He stroked her clit with the head of his penis and ate her responding cry as he continued to kiss her.

After several moments and repeated administrations, Antonin needed to be in her.

"Fuck, 'Tonin I need you. I need you in me." His wife pleaded, and he finally drove home. Sinking his cock into her, he went deep, his balls smacking against her arse.

"God witch, your so tight. So good." He groaned and withdrew only to repeat the motion harder and faster. Hermione whimpered under the pressure and delicious feeling of being full.

A moment later he withdrew completely, and she mumbled a protest. Antonin agreed so made quick work of rolling her into her front before slamming into her from behind in the same, hard, deep thrust as before.

He set a fast, and hard pace, diving in and out of her the only sounds that of flesh pounding against flesh, heavy breathing and occasional moans. Both of them were past the point of words and they were letting their bodies do the talking.

Antonin could feel his balls tighten and knew he was close. He withdrew so only his head remained inside his witch and a second later angled himself a little better and slid back in hard and fast, hitting her g spot and causing her to erupt in and orgasm. Her constricting muscles sucked his cock in deeper and milked him as his own climax swiftly followed. He collapsed against his witch panting.

"You feel fantastic." He said. "I missed you."

"Oh fuck," she sighed. "You have no idea how much I missed you. How much I needed this."

"It's a good thing I'm not even close to done with you then, isn't it " he stated and chuckled. He withdrew from her. "But I need a couple of minutes."

"Fair enough, me to." Hermione replied as she snuggled against him. "I love you." She whispered softly a moment later.

Antonin froze.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the love and praise you gave last chapter! I am thrilled that most of you seemed to genuinely enjoy it and craving more. I will be 100% honest with you guys, the characters have just taken a mind of their own, I had no intentions introducing the cliffhanger I left you all with last chapter so soon, and yet here we are. I am looking forward to your comments on the much sought about response from Antonin. And as always I want to thank my beta reader Not Romeo's Juliette. Here is Chapter 11.**

* * *

Antonin froze, as he held Hermione in a close embrace, her back snuggled into him. His casual pattern drawing on her shoulder that he had been mindlessly etching moments before ceased. Had he just heard his little witch right? Or was he dreaming.

He pinched himself to make sure he was awake and feeling the pain knew that he was.

"Pchelka, what did you just say?" He asked finally after agonizing minutes had passed. Hermione smiled sadly, she hadn't expected Antonin to reciprocate the feelings, nor had she planned on telling him just yet. Her words just kind of slipped out, but it didn't change that in the growing weeks she had grown attached to him. She had seen the good and the bad with him in their past and present. He was known to have a temper and act upon it, but he was protective and caring and she found herself caring deeply about him and forgiving the past.

She didn't doubt that there would be times that the wizard would infuriate her beyond belief, but she did love him. She knew it was almost too soon, but then affairs of the heart didn't take time into consideration and when you fell, you fell.

"I said that I love you. And I do, but its okay if you don't." She murmured softly, sorrow crossing her features. She was glad he couldn't see.

Antonin had heard her correctly then, and he smiled. He kissed his wife's shoulder. He had to think about his own feelings. "I'm happy to hear that moya dorogaya." He said, and didn't return the declaration. It was a fact that Hermione did not miss, but was unable to analyze further when she felt Antonin's erect member poking her in the back.

It seemed round two was about to begin.

* * *

The next morning Hermione sent her husband back through the floo and ventured down to the Great hall for breakfast. Her body was deliciously sore, the couple had been intimate over 5 times the night before, and she could feel the afterglow on every surface of her skin. The shower she had taken did nothing to alleviate the slight pain, and with the dawn came the flood of emotional pain that she had set aside the night before.

She loved a man she assumed did not love her back. It was okay, she had known it was a possibility and she knew that love might grow in time. It was all fine when she kept the knowledge of her feelings to herself. She had only known herself for a matter of weeks, and only became certain in the week that they had spent apart. She had decided not to say anything, to wait until the right moment, but then her carefully laid plan failed in the aftereffects of lovemaking. Being that close to the man she loved and not saying so was just not an option. But now he knew, and he hadn't reciprocate, which made things more awkward and uncomfortable.

She heaped a plate full of pancakes and drowned them in the sweet maple syrup and butter. Digging into the food, and nabbing bacon and sausage from her friends plates, she joked half-heartedly with her friends.

"'Mione, you look like you had a very good night." Teased Harry in a very un-Harry-like manner and she blushed.

"We married women often do," She quipped back grinning.

The playful banter and company as the group eagerly awaited there N.E.W.T Scores that night, was just what she needed to lift her spirits. It was Saturday and as they older students had officially completed the end of year testing, were permitted to go to Hogsmede. Ginny and Hermione went off together, to the shops to acquire last minute things for her wedding the following weekend.

The fiery witch had been able to postpone the required match until immediately after graduation, by pulling some strings she had at the ministry and an irate howler to the department head from molly. Hermione still laughed when she heard Ginny repeat the words her mother had used.

 _"No daughter of mine will be married before she has graduated from Hogwarts! You should be ashamed of yourselves cradle robbing the young students and marrying them off to reap the benefits."_

Hermione had agreed to stand in the wedding ceremony for the girl, strength in numbers as it was. Ginny had actually grown a little more amenable to the idea of marrying Rabastan. They had found some things they had in common through their exchange of letters, but Hermione knew that it was the heart to heart she had with Harry that allowed her to accept her arrangement. The former couple had resolved any of the initial hurt and anger by being honest with one another. Harry did love Ginny, but in a platonic way more than anything, but was too afraid of hurting her to tell her. Ginny cared about Harry and thought of him as her first love, but had been finding it difficult to be involved with the boy-who-lived. She wanted to be successful and make a profession Quiddach team because of her own merit, not because of the name of the boy she was involved with. The two had parted as friends and Ginny had begun a correspondence with her affianced. If nothing else, the pair could at least be friends.

Harry had received a Ministry sealed letter announcing that he had been matched with Elaina Yaxley, a younger witch by a year who had attended Beaubaxtons's. She had never taken the mark but was the daughter of a known deatheater, and therefore eligible for the marriage law.

Harry would be married in three weeks himself, Ron and Lavender were planning a wedding for the end of august. The season for nuptials was plenty and Hermione feared that she would be sick of ceremonies by the end of the year, but was glad to see that her friends were making the most out of their circumstances. Harry didn't seem unpleased with his match, they hadn't met yet, but he was planning on doing so soon. Ron loved lavender that much was evident, he loved her in a way that he had never loved Hermione, and she was happy that he was happy.

Ginny may not love her affianced, however, Hermione was certain that her friend did have a fondness for him already. She was dedicating a lot of thought into planning the wedding and so that said something about how she felt. If Ginny was this dedicated to something it meant she cared, which was a good sign.

"The last thing to do is find your dress robes for the ceremony," the bride to be mumbled. Hermione groaned in response. Dress shopping with the only Weasley daughter was never something she had found enjoyable, and when it came to the girl's wedding Hermione thought it was going to be even more of a hassle than it normally was.

But she was surprised. Ginny saw the dress she wanted right away and was delighted with how it looked on Hermione. The gown was a jade color, made of chiffon and fell just past the knees. It had a scoop neckline and back and was tied together with a simple matching ribbon. It was simple, yet elegant.

Hermione was overjoyed to have the ordeal over with quickly. The two friends met up with the rest of their group at the Three Broomsticks before they all headed back up to the castle for dinner.

As the evening was drawing to a close, Hermione couldn't help but feel a loneliness overcome her. She awaited her test results and had plans to soak in a hot tub after receiving them. She needed to consider how she would interact with her husband from here on out. If he didn't love her yet, she still didn't want things to be awkward.

* * *

Antonin had been shocked by his young wives revelation. He simply didn't know how to react to such a declaration and at first wasn't sure that she meant it. He sensed that she was hurt when he asked her to repeat the statement. He was horrified because she had made it known to him that she thought he didn't love her, and that it was okay to her.

Antonin did not know how he felt about the witch. She was a dream. Ever since he first saw her, he felt an attraction to her he had never felt in his entire life. He obsessed after her while he was in Azkaban, wondering at first if he had killed her, then sincerely hoping not realizing it would be a damn shame. He got through those dark days in prison thinking only of her, lusting after her body, focusing on his fantasies of what he wanted to do to her, with her.

He had never imaged the possibility that he would ever come close enough to do so. When he found out he was engaged to her, something shifted. He still held the obsession and lust but he found he desired more than that.

The months since their wedding, brought the realization that he cared for this witch more than he had ever cared for anyone in his life. More than his mother, and he had always been close with Anya Dolohov.

He would do anything for her, to protect her, to see her smile, to watch her come undone beneath him. But was it love?

He had never considered that he was a man capable of such an emotion, even less so after the darkness that spread through his soul. He craved happiness and comfort with his wife, and he desired her above anyone else, but he couldn't be sure it was love.

These concerns had been a constant stress for him ever since his revenge on the Weasley girl. He wouldn't have been so malicious and relentless in vengeance for anybody else, frankly he wouldn't have cared. But holding his dove on his lap as horrible sobs heaved through her entire body made him angrier and more possessive than he had ever been. And he felt scared, vulnerable and hated seeing her cry, knowing that he couldn't prevent the things people would say.

Ever since then he pondered the extent of his feelings and argued with himself, thinking he couldn't be lucky enough to feel such a powerful emotion, a fearful that if he allowed himself to that such strong emotions would never be returned.

Not after trying to kill his witch more than once, and being very close to successful on the first attempt on her life. Not being twenty years older than her preventing her from the young love she deserved, not having a symbol permanently etched on his arm as a representation of hating her very existence. She wouldn't love him, couldn't, shouldn't even, and yet she told him he did.

The wizard stared into his glass of vodka, he had been drinking most of the day. Vodka was a beverage he only pulled out on the direst of occasions, and for a Russian, he hardly ever touched the stuff. Today was an exception. Today was a pattern of thinking overwhelming thoughts, drinking them away, once again thinking, back to drinking. He had left his wife that morning and opened the bottle in his desk. 9 hours later and he was hallway through his second bottle. And no closer to feeling better. He felt worse if anything.

"Fuck it all" he commented dryly to himself, he had made of mess of things. He did love his little witch, there was no other way to explain his reactions around her, and he had mucked it all up.

How on earth would he fix this? And whys should she ever forgive him, again?

He needed to talk to her, but he was in no state to appear before her this way. He went to his cabinet where he stored a variety of potions, and retrieved a sober-up and pepper-up potion and downed them both quickly, before showering off the stench of alcohol.

Once he felt appropriately presentable he made quick work of flooring to his wife's dorm and entering her washroom to find her in a bath.

She didn't look at him when he came in and he could see she was crying. He wanted to displace the tears to someone else causing them but he knew he was the root cause. He didn't ask who made her cry, because even though he knew it was the truth, he couldn't bear to hear her say that it was him.

"I'm sorry Dorogaya." He said sincerely, his voice cracking with his own emotion.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Antonin. You can't help how you feel."

"Hermione the thing is that I don't deserve your love. I've been in love with you for a long time, before we were married even I think, but the affection only grew. I haven't told you of my feelings because I didn't dare to dream that you would ever feel the same way. I am a coward, I have been afraid of opening my heart and being scared."

"Don't Antonin. Please, I can' hear you say something if you don't mean it." She choked out.

"I love you, dorogaya. I do love you. And I'm appalled that my cowardice has hurt you." He said and sank to his knees by the tub.

"I was so worried." His witch confessed. "I was afraid that saying how I felt for you would change our relationship. It seems so sudden to feel so deeply for you, but love is a strange thing."

"That it is. And I am a man who has done nothing to earn such affection from you yet. I want you to know that I endeavor to do so from this moment until my dying breath." Antonin Promised.

His witch leaned up and kissed him. "Antonin. Shut up and take me to bed. I don't want to fight with you."

"I couldn't agree more." He lifted his wife from the water and muttered a drying charm before carrying her naked body to the bedroom and allowing them both to show each other the depths of their feelings for one another.

The fell asleep still connected to one another with no desire to ever let the other go.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I know its been a bit longer than normal for an update and I just want you all to know that I am still dedicated to this story. While I will be splitting the updates between this and my other WIP Dangerous Little Games, there should still be no less than one update per week. I have recently been busy posting up some other goodies which I see some of you have already discovered, so I just wanted to say thanks to my faithful readers and reviewers. Also Thank you Not Romeo's Juliette for being my second set of eyes and being an awesome beta. Here is Chapter 12!**

* * *

Moving into Rosewood Cottage was much easier than Hermione thought it would be. Antonin found that living with another person around all of the time wasn't as distracting as he thought it could be. Oh, His wife was certainly distracting, but she was busy enough with wedding planning for her friends, and job hunting and interviewing that it left him enough time to concentrate on his work.

The months passed by relatively quickly that summer. Hermione was immersed in the work of Maid of honor in Ginny and Rabastan's wedding, and then immediately later as a bridesmaid for Harry's fiancé, and now wife. She luckily was only an honorary guest at Ron and Lavender's wedding, because by that point she was so over flower arrangements, dress shopping and bridezilla's that she thought if she never attended another wedding it would be too soon. She was glad however, for the fact that despite the couples being paired by order of the law, that her friends were able to have decent ceremonies. Hermione didn't get that for her own, and while it wasn't something she blamed her husband for, it did hurt a little knowing that her own wedding was rushed and hurried because the ministry needed to make her the shining example of the new law.

She was settling into her new life as Antonin's wife. It wasn't all roses and sunshine, he was a difficult man to contend with, with his tempers and his possessiveness. He always seemed to be wanting to shelter her from something, or monopolizing her time when she was free, she sometimes felt like she was drowning in him, but then after years of living in a school filled with people and places to be, a smaller cottage with just the two of them often meant they were underfoot of the other more than she was used to.

She tried to give him space, because he was engaged with his research and enjoyed creating new charms. His excitement for the subject pleased and fascinated her and while she loved watching him, she found that more often than not watching him distracted him from actual work.

She was finding life after Hogwarts a little boring. She was half glad she had been involved in so many weddings because without the work it entailed, she would have been bored out of her mind. She had no homework, no classes, and no job as of yet. Hermione found that her personality wasn't quite well liked within the walls of the ministry and she wasn't so sure she wanted to end up on the political side of things anyway. But she needed to do something with her life.

The problem was that she didn't know what that was. She had thought to become a teacher at one point, a professor, but that required a mastery in something, and she didn't particularly favor one subject above all the other's enough for her to teach it. She had always been adventurous and skilled in the field. Having two foolhardy best friends who also happened to be reckless Gryffindor's had made her feel obligated to trounce along after the duo and use her skills to keep them well. And war had been another factor, she was skilled with healing potions and concepts, and knew enough about plants and herbs that grew wild, to have kept her and her friends alive on the run. True, herbology was not her best subject, in fact she found it incredible dull and even pointless, at least the actual applied work, the reading however was quite useful.

She knew that whatever she was meant to do, that she wanted to be of some use to people. She hummed softly to herself as she finally figured out a route she could take and be happy on. Antonin walked into the kitchen where he saw her drinking a morning cup of coffee.

He smiled at hearing her absent minding humming and knew she was lost in thought. He took this as an opportunity to sneak up on her and wrap his arm around her as he stood behind her chair.

"Hmmm, Good morning, malen'kaya l'vitsa." She wiggled in his hold to turn around and kiss him.

"Good morning, husband." Beamed.

"What has you so happy this morning?" he asked fondly.

"I have decided on something." His wife replied coyly. He raised his eyebrow.

"Pray tell." He coaxed.

"I want to be a healer." She said and smiled. He frowned. Her face fell. "What?" she asked him concerned.

"L'vitsa, I can provide for us, for you, for our family." He grumbled. Hermione's ire sparked and she was out of her chair her hands on her hips.

"Antonin Dolohov, I know I did not hear you correctly just now," she spoke calmly, breathing evenly as she gave him an opportunity change his tune. He didn't, he was a man and he and his opinion and she was damn well going to let him keep it.

"Well if you heard me say that as the head of this household it is my job to provide for everybody who lives under it and that I am more than capable of doing so, then you heard me correctly little wife." He gruffed out at her.

"I am not a little anything!" she shouted indignity, 'And you are bloody mental if you think that I'm going to play the pretty housewife for you all day." Antonin felt his self-control dissipate as his temper rose.

"Oh no, no, no Dorogaya, you will not be only a housewife, you are going to be the stay-at-home mother, take care of our children, host parties, attended charity functions the whole nine yards." He hollered in frustration. Her palm collided with his right cheek hard enough to snap his head to the side.

"Fuck you Antonin. I didn't go through school, be labeled the brightest witch of my age, fight a merlin forsaken war, so that I could play at house with you. I am going to work!" she screamed as she beat her fists on his chest with each word.

'You will stop hitting me Hermione," he began only to be met with another fist to the breastbone, 'Right Now!" She stopped beating her fist on him and instead placed a well time knee to his groin.

"Take that you old fashioned ninny." She hissed. Antonin ignored the pain and managed to stay on his feet, as Hermione tried to leave the room he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Woman!" he yelled. "You will fucking listen to me."

'Like hell I Will!" she retorted.

"Oh you will." He warned. "You cannot fault a man for being traditional." He began but the words never left his mouth. The little witch had silenced him! He detested being silenced.

"You do not own me Antonin. I will not live my life only as your wife." She said calmly, satisfied now that he could argue with her. She tugged herself free from his grip. Antonin smirked. She may think she has the last word, but I don't need to talk to prove a point.

As she crossed the room once again he rose his wand and silently cast the incarcerous charm on her. Thick robes wrapped around her hands and feet and she fell to the floor in a heap. He hovered over her as his wife began shouting and cursing him again. Ten minutes later when her throat was raw, he picked her up from the ground and cradled her to his chest. Neither had yet to lift the curse from the other.

She nuzzeled his neck when he held her, and he kissed her head.

She lifted her curse.

"Don't ever silence me, witch." He growled. As he finited his own curse of her. The ropes untied and vanished but he still held firmly in his grasp. "I'm not going to apologize for the way I believe the world should be. The way I was raised, in Russian culture dorogaya, it is considered unseemly for a woman to want to work outside of the home. My mother was a housewife, so was my grandmother. And they were very happy with their lives." He murmered in her ear. "I will not change my mind on how I want our lives to be. But likewise, I am not going to impede your goals."

"I hate how everything in this fucking world is backwards with you people. In the muggle world women are almost expected to work now."

"This isn't the muggle world," he argued.

'I KNOW! Believe me, I Know!" she spat.

"I'm sorry for ruining your good mood." He apologized.

"You should be. I'm not sorry for fighting your non progressing views, I will always stand up for my rights Antonin." She said.

"I know. I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

"Put me down." She said eventually.

'Now that I cannot do." He replied and smirked.

"Antonin…." She protested as he began to stride for their bedroom. All further protested were squashed when he kissed her and laid her on the bed.

Make-up sex was very, very good between them.

* * *

The next day, Antonin was out sitting in for a hearing at the Wizengamot. Hermione took the opportunity to investigate further her plan to enroll in the mastery program at St. Mungo's and begin her apprenticeship as a trainee healer.

When she returned to the cottage before Antonin did, she laid her acceptance letter on the table proudly for him to see and began preparing their evening meal. She wanted to show him, out of respect for the man despite his disagreement with his views that she did care about their marriage, home and future family. She did cherish the home they had created, and loved the intimacy she shared with him in and out of bed. Just because she wanted to work outside of the home didn't mean she was neglecting his expectations for her to grow with him.

She was cutting vegetables when he came in, and she didn't notice his sudden arrival. He remained silent watching her sway her hips as she diced the onion. The white paper on the table captured his attention and he walked over.

He had had a shit day, the chairs in the court were very uncomfortable and naturally that meant that the trial had to go on exceedingly long. He wasn't in a mood, and as he saw the acceptance letter on the piece of paper that was his wife's application for a mastery apprenticeship as a healer, his felt his mood darken even more.

"You didn't think to discuss this with me then?" He clipped when he dropped the parchment back down. Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned to face him reminding herself to stay calm.

"No Antonin. I didn't. We discussed this yesterday, I will not bow down to your traditional way of life." She said firmly, but calmly.

"And I accepted your decision to pursue the possibility, possibility of embarking on the path of apprenticeship. Yet a day later I come home to find it's no longer a mere prospect but somehow a reality." He sneered at her.

"Fine Antonin. I see your point." She answered.

"If you saw my point you would be seeing reason and begging my forgiveness." He accused.

"Screw it." The witch dramatically said in exasperation, throwing her hands up. "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Why can't you just be sensible and let me take care of you?" he countered.

"I am woman hear me roar. I am proud to have a brain I can put to use, and it would be wasted if I sit around the home all the time as you clearly want me to." Hermione groaned out.

"You obviously consider that noble work that women have been doing since the beginning of time, as being beneath you." He snapped in response.

"Yes I Do. Because It is the simple fact that men have always tried to put themselves above the supposedly lesser gender, and felt the need to prove their power by all but forcing women into the role of wives and mothers with nothing else to fill their time but birthing babes and tending house. Men forbade women an education, men refused to hear a woman speak of anything more than endearments and feelings, men stole the things that women plotted and planned and claimed it for their own. Since the beginning of time. Women came up with the practices men enforced but then were deemed unfit to actually hold any power. Women fought a war for their rights you know, and these are rights that as I woman I now have. As a woman I would be betraying my sex to stand here and let you do to me what men have done for centuries. I am gifted with a mind, an education and a world where I can attain employment. It would be appalling for me to not use it!" She rambled at him.

Antonin laughed, amused by his wife's speal, realizing that she had a point and inspired by her apparent annoyance with the male population of the world. "Hermione, only you would find a way to see fault with the history of the world and bring it into our marriage." He roasted her when his laughter finished.

"You know what, Fuck you Antonin. Of course you would fault me for being a woman who has opinions. I can't even fucking look at you right now. " She hollered when his laughter deepened. She pushed past him and straight into the fireplace where she flooed over to Ginny's own house. Antonin of course knew where she went and also knew that Rabastan wouldn't be amused to be interrupted because of a feud that his mate was having with his wife.

Antonin knew that the wizard would not harbor his young wife for long, but none-the-less followed her there.

He was greeted by an enraged Ginny. How, how had Hermione had time to tell the redheaded swot everything in the mere 60 seconds that it took for him to arrive after Hermione? He wondered. Then it hit him, Hermione had already filled in the girl about the argument last night and her sudden arrival there now told the witch all she needed to know.

"Hermione, go make yourself at home." She ordered and Hermione cast one last glare at Antonin before walking down the hall. Before he could be started in on by yet another infuriating witch, his own friend came to his rescue.

"Salazar, mate, you look like you could use a drink." He commented. "Good thing I have just the stuff." Rabastan said and steered him in the direction of his study, only to be sidestepped by his own wife.

"Listen here Lestrange," she began "I need a word here with Dolohov. If you are a good boy and give the adults here room to speak, then I might let you do unmentionable things to me later." Antonin knew then that they had somehow impeded the couple's own argument and chuckled darkly.

Rabastan frowned but then deciding that the prospect of sex later was better than the knowledge that there would be no sex later if he didn't cooperate. He slunk away. Honestly Antonin couldn't blame the man.

"You are an arse Dolohov." She commented.

"I know." He replied.

"Well good." The witch replied, and shook her head. "Hermione has spent her entire life in the wizarding world trying to prove she is good enough. She entered a world at 11 completley new to her only to encounter many who felt she had no place here, so she had to work double as hard as the rest of us. Put yourself in her shoes, she went to war to fight for he life, because she was being pushed out just because her parents happen to be muggles. Hermione doesn't accept failure. And she wants to be useful. She finally feels as though she belongs in this world and is finally free to use her skill and magic to make a difference unimpeded by bigoted purebloods. You need to let her."

Antonin lifted his hands to rub his eyes. "I know." He repeated.

"She's probably in the gardens. I forbade her from hiding in the library. Go talk to her. Oh and Dolohov?"

"Yeah?"

"The next to Hermione comes bursting through my floo crying like she just did, I will murder you while you sleep."

"Duly noted, Lestrange." He said emphasizing the last name and effectively reminding the witch that she was here because of him. Without waiting for further comment, he departed in search for his wife.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm going to admit that this chapter was both difficult to write and it surprised me. Some of you may hate me by the end, and I hope that it isn't too OOC for Hermione, because I don't see it that way. After a thoughtful review last chapter I wanted to expand on the argument they had and while I positively suck at writing fight/argument scenes, this chapter is pretty much just them working out their differences. I hope you all enjoy and I am looking forward to seeing what happens from here. A special thank you to Not Romeo's Juliette for being an awesome Beta.**

Hermione roamed the twisted paths of the Lestrange gardens. The paths were made of stone and were comparable to a maze it was so easy to just lose oneself in the beauty of the enclosure. As the sweet aroma of Lilies accosted her senses, Hermione felt her anger dissipate. She had been so enraged with Antonin over the issue at hand, and while her rational side knew that the problem was far from resolved, flowers had always had a way of calming her, and so she let them.

She continued her wandering until she came across a stone bench overlooking a rose bush. She sat down and admired the simple beauty. They were her favorite flower, something about them was just so fragile and delicate but yet still resilient. If Hermione could compare herself to a flower a rose she would be.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting but at some point she became aware of the warmth of a presence next to her. An all too familiar presence. She was instantly reminded of the hurt and resentment she felt that pushed her into her current setting and while part of her wanted to curl up and snuggle into Antonin's body heat, her mind was too upset to allow her that luxury.

"I'm sorry Dorogaya." He began. Hermione just shook her head, unable to find words adequate enough to express her emotions.

She realized that she hardly knew anything about the man she was married to. They had been forced together by an act of law, and while they were compatible both in intellect and physical chemistry and certainly attracted to one another, there was the fact that they were twenty years apart in age and came from completely different world views. They were not able to take things slow and choose to become bonded by their own accord, and now found that they had so much to learn about the other.

But she thought that her husband would have understood that her dedication to school and knowledge wasn't simply because she enjoyed books and learning it was because she wanted to do something with her life. And moreover she had expressed that to him the night before, explained she wouldn't sit idly by and waste her hard work in school and perfect O record on her N.E.W.T's. But yet he came home tonight and immediately jumped down her throat over the fact that she had taken up an apprenticeship.

I'm sorry didn't cut it for that. Nicknames didn't cut it for that.

"Hermione." He pleaded softly, and she finally looked at him her amber eyes meeting his blue ones.

"I don't have anything to say to you Antonin." She said. He sighed heavily. "No, I mean I don't have words to communicate with you at this point, not that I don't want to talk. I just don't know what to say." She concluded, trying to alleviate some of his frustrations.

"Am I not forgiven?" He asked in response.

"No. First of all the argument hasn't reached a point for forgiveness. Secondly I'm not sure there is anything to forgive you for."

"What do you mean by that Dorogaya?"

"You are who you are. You were raised the way you were raised. You believe as you believe. I can't change that. I can't fault you for that." She explained.

"But you don't agree." He prompted.

"No, I don't agree. I don't see the world in black and white like you do."

"It's not a matter of color." He chided. He didn't appreciate her categorization of his views.

"No it is. You see things as they should have been from your childhood. You mother was a housewife, as was your grandmother and every other female ancestor in your line. That upbringing filters into your view of women, to you women belong in the home. You will never want me to work because you want the woman you looked up from your own childhood. I admire that you want to take care of me Antonin, I do."

"But…"

"But I'm not your mother, and I wasn't raised in a home like that. My mother worked and raised me. I turned out just fine. I was raised to push myself and to make something out of my life, I feel like I would be betraying the upbringing I had and my education and the values I hold by doing anything but working."

"I don't really want to be married to my mother." Antonin replied. "I just want my wife to want a family."

"I do want a family!" She cried, frustrated that he couldn't separate a family from a career.

"If you did than you would understand where I'm coming from." He quipped. "Yet you are sitting here telling me you feel ostracized."

"I don't feel ostracized, I am. The wizarding society is patriarchal and non-progressed compared to the muggle world and I'm barred or restricted from a lot of areas because I happen to be a witch instead of a wizard. Not to mention that the society we live in also favors your view. You are therefore playing into the oppression of my sex by insisting that I stay at home!" She reasoned. Antonin reminded himself to remain calm as she made her accusations and went off on her tangent about wizarding society.

"That isn't fair." He drawled.

"Exactly. It isn't fair. I can't blame you for being raised in a world where society told you a witch's place is in the home. But at the same time I can't help but to fight that view." She expressed completely misunderstanding that Antonin was protesting her judgment of his oppressing her. He let it go.

"This sounds like it's much more than about a job." Antonin said. "You are making this more complicated than it should be. I don't care about society, I don't care about muggles what I care about is you and me. Would you let the rest of it go and just talk about us?" He eventually blurted in exasperation with his wife.

Hermione sighed. But then she realized he had a point. She was getting ahead of herself. She was irritated and overwhelmed by having to constantly prove herself as a witch, especially as a muggle-born, and as a youth in the world but still having to be married off by a law, still subjected to a world that was backwards in her mind. But that wasn't what she was fighting with him about. He couldn't control any of that. She was fighting with him because he wanted something from her she just couldn't give him. And while the other stuff related to the big picture of why she was upset, it was too complex to bring into an argument. She was being slightly unreasonable.

"I can try." She eventually clipped, chastened.

"The problem is that you want to do something with your life and I disagree that that should be a job, yes?" He asked after several moments.

"Yup." She said, enunciating the 'p' sound with a loud pop.

"Okay," he sighed. " So that is what we are fighting about then. We are not debating muggle history, women's rights, witch's rights or anything other than that."

"Right." Hermione agreed.

"I can't help that I don't want you to work, Hermione." He said with finality.

"And I can't help that I want to."

"I know that you are smart, little wife. I'd be blind and dumb if I didn't. But you seem to not see anything beyond physically working. What is so wrong about taking care of a family and using your brains to spearhead charities and other campaigns?"

"I don't want to do that. It isn't satisfying enough for me."

"I see." He said tersely.

"I want a family Antonin. I want your children. But I want to show them that a good education and dedicated work ethic go a long way. I'd be the world's biggest hypocrite if I was the housewife you seem to want me to be." She explained.

"I disagree. I feel that it is an honor for a woman to become a mother raise children from home. It nurtures them, shows them love, and teaches them respect." He countered.

"I'm not saying I disagree with those facts. I'm just saying I can't be that kind of a mom. I want to work. Is that really so hard to understand?"

"Yes and no. Dorogaya, I understand that you want to work, I can even appreciate why. What I don't fathom is why you are so adverse to my view. Or why you have to choose a career that is one of the most demanding professions."

"I want to help people. And I'm remarkably skilled with healing spells and potions, or so I learned during the war." She implored.

"So be a Mediwitch." He argued further.

"Let me take the apprenticeship Antonin." She demanded. "Let me train to be a healer and I'll consider it."

"I don't want you away from the home with a schedule that demanding. Why won't you compromise with me?"

"I am compromising with you. I gave my word and I accepted an apprenticeship. Like it or not I will work it."

"What if your simply considering to become a mediwitch isn't good enough for me?" he goaded her. Hermione was beginning to get even angrier, but managed to not show it. She was determined to break through to the man.

"Antonin, I can't promise what I'm going to want to do at the end of the next two years. In two years I may feel completely different than I do right now. All I can tell you is that I promise I will work on our marriage and that I will start a family with you. I can't promise that I'll be a mediwitch or that I'll ever want to stop working, because I don't know what the future has in store. But either way I will be here for our children, they will be loved and they will be raised with the right kind of values." She expressed.

"You are so frustrating. This is frustrating. I hate fighting with you." Antonin groaned and wiped his hands over his face.

"I hate fighting with you to."

"Then can we not reach an accord?"

"I don't want to be your trophy." She said.

"I'd never treat you that way." He growled, couldn't she see that he would worship her? She wasn't some prize for him, she was his wife, his partner. He just had opinions on what that meant.

"I know you don't think that. But to me being a housewife equates to the same thing. It's just how I feel."

"I think we've already established you won't ever be a housewife. Now I'm asking you not to be a healer."

"And I'm asking you not to ask that of me."

"So what do you want?" he yelled out finally the argument becoming too much for him to bare.

"I want to work. And have a family. Can we just see how this goes from here?"

"I don't know. I can't talk about this anymore. It's giving me a headache." He insisted.

"Antonin. There are so many possibilities to consider when it comes to raising a family. We can hire a nanny, there is such a thing as daycare. I could easily be both a healer and a mom."

"Is it wrong of me to want my children to have as much time with their mom as possible?" he groaned wanting to kiss his wife and not yell. But sex wasn't going to make this better. He worried that this was just a sign of bigger differences they would have. He didn't want one broken link to effect the whole relationship.

"No of course not. But what I'm saying is that we can table the idea of my potential career until children are involved. We are not there yet and right now we are fighting over something that isn't a real issue yet. We both know we want a family, but let's agree to have the bigger discussions when they are here and just let me work for now." She smiled softly at him after her speech.

"Fine." He accepted with a long sigh. There was no reasoning with the woman and he was quickly realizing that she would leave him sooner than she would become what he had always imaged in a wife. She wouldn't conform. But he was stubborn and he really wanted her to.

"Thank you." She said finally and she laid her head on his shoulder. "I know I'm not easy."

"No, that you are not." He agreed whole-heartedly.

"I love you Antonin." She said.

"And I you." He repeated and then he kissed her.

* * *

Three months passed since the non-resolution in the garden. Antonin had stopped thinking of it as a fight, because they were no longer discussing it in an attempt to stop from escalating into a screaming match. They had settled into a routine for the most part. Hermione woke up every day to go to her job, and Antonin used the day to do his research and spell work. When she returned home in the evening they spent their time together, she attempted to cook until she proved that she was not only a catastrophically horrible cook but that she only managed to injure herself in the prosses of creating her inedible monstrosities. Since the man didn't want to starve to death on overcooked chicken, undercooked stew, and all but raw meat or burned water, and see his wife hurt for her efforts despite the pitiful outcome of her preparing meals, he had taken over as cook.

However she hung out with him in the kitchen, setting the table, pouring the wine, cutting vegetables sometimes. At first they didn't talk much about anything besides common interests, both afraid to mention the idea her working. But as they grew more comfortable with the routine, they would often discuss their days with the other as they ate.

Antonin happened to enjoy the moments after dinner where they cuddled up together on the couch. Hermione would be reading and Antonin would either do the same or just sit and watch her as she lost herself in her task. They would sit there until one of them initiated a kiss, which more often than not led them somewhere else.

Antonin struggled with himself. On one hand he wanted to be content with this. To just enjoy the time he had with his wife, get to know her better, and make the marriage work the way it was going. He knew that working made his witch happy he could see it written on her face, and in how she discussed her day. But every time she mentioned a particular case she found fascinating, or shared an accomplishment he felt a pang in his heart. He wanted his wife home with him, still held on to his hope for a stay at home mother, even as he realized she would never be one. But as he saw how in her element he was, he worried that she would never settle for anything besides becoming a healer. He felt underappreciated and yet at the same time felt like the biggest arse in the world for wanting to keep his young wife from something that made her so happy.

Hermione could see the struggle he had. He would go quiet or grunt whenever she talked about the highlights of her training and she hurt to see him in that way. She wanted to convert him to her way of thinking, but didn't feel it was fair to change him. She wanted him to understand how much she liked working and therefore she prattled on about it. This only served to cause a further rift between them.

Which is why at the end of the third month in her training, she came to a decision.

"Antonin, we need to talk." She started as she entered the kitchen upon her return home. He was cooking something that smelled positively wonderful.

"The four words no man wants to hear from his wife." He said lightly, not wanting to bring in tension to the evening, yet dreading the next words Hermione would say.

"Yes, well I think you will want to hear what I have to say." She said. She was beaming and had a radiating light around her, she was glowing, he thought. And then he paled as a thought struck him.

"Dorogaya, are you with child?" He asked abruptly, deadly serious.

"What? No! Err, I mean, not that I know of. It isn't that." He felt himself let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Oh. Okay. What then?"

"I want to make you happy." Hermione said after a long moment. He raised his eyes to her, wondering what she was going on about. "I still don't want to be a housewife, but I can see that you are very much bothered by my training to be a healer."

"Pchelka, I'm trying. I won't lie and say I like it, but I'm also not stopping you." He sighed. The other shoe seemed to have dropped.

"I know 'Tonin. My darling, my point is that I love you and despite the fact that you clearly disagree with my career path you have not said one thing or done anything to sabotage it. That means more to me than you will ever know. But I still can see how unhappy you are when I talk about it, how worried you are that it will affect our marriage. I can feel tension between us that I don't want. So I transferred programs today. I'm no longer an apprentice healer, but I am an assistant mediwitch. It's less demanding, and honestly, will still allow me to do what I want, which is to help people."

Antonin was horrified. His inability to show his wife that he was proud of her and forced her to do something she didn't want. "Hermione," he said and couldn't find words to express that he was sorry. "Why would you do that?" he asked finally.

"I want to make you happy." She said again. "And I don't want to hurt you, which I could see I was doing."

"But I didn't ask you to do this!" He exclaimed in protest. He never meant for her to feel his desire for her to leave her program. At least not since the garden. He did of course want this from her, he wouldn't deny that, but what had he done to make her feel like she had to switch?

"I know." She restated. "And I think really that is what helped me decide. I know you never wanted me to work, but you compromised with me. You asked me back when we first started on this path to become a mediwitch and I didn't do a good job of considering the prospect. I didn't concede anything in return for you. But since then, even though I assume it was very difficult for you didn't impede my efforts in anyway. I sacrificed for you because I love you and it's stupid to fight over a career. I can do this for you and still satisfy the desire I have to help and be a medical professional, and loathe to admit it but you were right all along. The demands of a healer would be too demanding to successfully raise a family."

"I love you to." Antonin said automatically in response to Hermione's declaration. "I'm surprised. I never expected you to give up your stance on this. I've been trying to let go of mine." He confessed.

"I didn't want you to resent me." She replied. "And honestly as much as I find the training to be a healer fascinating it extends so far beyond what I had imagined that it wasn't really what I wanted to do. And I want a family."

Antonin smiled and crossed the room to enfold his wife into a warm hug. "Thank you." He said. She didn't need words to reply. She kissed him. And that night it was Antonin's turn to ruin a perfectly good meal.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Per request this chapter is focused on the dynamic between Ginny and Rabastan. I wanted to get this chapter out to you all before thanksgiving. I will try to update the next chapter, back to the main pairing, early next week. Thanks to you and all your reviews. Thanks Not Romeo's Juliet for being my beta. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

"Listen here Lestrange," Rabastan's wife harped, "I need a word here with Dolohov. If you are a good boy and give the adults here room to speak, then I might let you do unmentionable things to me later."

Rabastan frowned but then deciding that the prospect of sex later was better than the knowledge that there would be no sex later if he didn't cooperate. He slunk away. His wife was irritating at best and a downright botch at worst and while normally the wizard didn't overly mind her mood swings and take charge orders towards Jim, finding her feisty nature amusing, he was in a dour mood. They had been in the middle of arguing about something, he didn't even know what, it was one of her usual tirades about something miniscule, when the floo in their dining room roared to life and Hermione burst through. He detested being interrupted. And now, _now_ the witch had publicly grabbed him by the cock and pulled his manliness right out of him. He was sure Antonin was laughing his arse off at him. Rabastan would show the witch who was boss, and his best way of doing that was sex.

He pulled out his brandy and drank it as he pondered just what to do. He had no idea how long she would be berating his mate, but Rabastan was rather enjoying the fact he was free from it for a blissful few minutes.

* * *

"Are the grown-ups done talking?" Rabastan asked his feisty witch as she reappeared in the dining room.

"Yes. But Rabastan, what have I told you about sulking?" She retorted.

"You inform me on a regular basis that it is unbecoming." He said.

"Then why are you doing it now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and hands on her hips in her eerily moll-like stance. Oh god, she was more like her mother than she wanted to be. She thought.

"I'm not." He replied.

"You are."

"Well fuck it all witch!" he finally clipped. "You wounded my ego."

"In what way?" Ginny argued in irritation. "I didn't do or say anything aside from what I normally do.'

"Ginevra," Rabastan began, "You know I love you being your fiery self but there are just some situations in which it is embarrassing and you embarrassed me in front of my mate."

"I see. Well I apologize then for wounding your pride. But I'm not some little wife you get to walk around with on your arm to show off and I will not behave docile like one either." She stated coldly.

"Not what I meant and you know it!" he yelled. "I just don't appreciate being belittled by you in front of my best mate!"

"You don't seem to mind normally why now."

"Because Ginny, It is humiliating to be treated like a child. It's one thing when it's just us, but I will be treated with respect in front of guests."

"Fine." She said. She turned to leave the room but as she walked passed Rabastan's chair to get to the door, he snaked his arm around her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.

"You know I love it when you get all bossy with me, just as I know you love it when I take control with this." Rabastan whispered before he pressed kisses down her neck and trailed his hands up and under her shirt to caresses her milky white skin.

It was an odd relationship the couple had. They had certainly found out how well they were compatible and what worked for them quickly into the relationship. Of course Ginny had hated him at first. To her Rabastan was a the former deatheater who she had sparred with in the department of mysteries when she was fourteen years old, and who had very nearly killed her before she hit him with her famous bat boogey hex. Ever since then, Rabastan had been enamored by her, he found himself often thinking about the spit fiery redhead who had successfully landed him with a childish hex yet one that was both excruciatingly disgusting and painful. And of course the dark lord didn't see fit to end the effects of the curse until hours after they returned.

Even when Ginny had found out after the war that Lestrange had been imperioused by that bitch of a sister in law the entire time, she of course felt pity for him, but found herself still disliking the man for the things he had done and the way he had been raised to think. Imperious curse or not, the man was still one of Voldemort's followers and he was a dark wizard.

She had been furious when she found out that she was to marry him. She had been told she was exempt from the law because of her relationship with harry, but her friend's husband walks into the ministry and within hours the Wizengamet changed their minds and included her. And she found that she had to wed the same man who had been in her dreams since she was a girl. And they were not nightmares, they were dreams that Ginny found herself afraid of because she knew she should fear the man, should despise him not be attracted to him and having crazy sex dreams about him.

But Rabastan had been persistent. At Fits the witch wouldn't even open his letters attempting to get to know her. But he being the sly Slytherin that he was became crafty and clever and instead of writing the letter on the inside of the parchment wrote the lines on the outside of the sealed envelope so that she would have no choice but to see the words he was writing, at least some of them. He sent her mostly poetry bequeathing her beauty and charm. Eventually she replied to him and from there a relationship was formed.

Her mother of course was adamant that her daughter would have a decent wedding and not some quick ceremony while she was still in school. Rabastan of course agreed, he wanted his wedding to be special, and he knew his bride deserved a real one.

He had of course picked out her gown. A floor-length satin gown that polled around her feet, with a lace overlay and red satin sash around the waist. The otherwise white gown had a very low cut neckline, and when he saw her wearing it as she walked down the aisle he thought that she looked radiant.

As they sat here now at the dinner table and Rabastan squeezed her breasts in his hand and enjoyed the responsiveness of her body as she squirmed on his lap and moaned for him, he thought about the dynamic of their relationship.

He took control in the bedroom. He was more experienced, and considerably more talented than her only other lover, the potter prat, when he to his immense pleasured discovered that he brought the witch her first orgasm on her wedding night. A virgin she may not have been, but she was most defiantly his and he took considerable pride in knowing that as he would be her only sexual partner in the future and was the partner she first reached climax with that her pleasure belonged to him.

However in control he may be in the bedroom, and anywhere else they enjoyed his favorite pastime, she was a force to be reckoned with in every other area of the relationship. She was bossy, opinionated, loud and domineering about what he wore, what they ate, what he should do during the day, how much he drank and anything else you could possibly imagine.

He realized that her having been raised with seven older brothers meant she had to be assertive and domineering in pretty much everything, and is why he suspected that was why she was submissive to him in the intimate components of their marriage.

"Oh god Bas. Don't stop." The wailing from his little wife interrupted his thought process and he broke from his reverie to find that his had trailed his other hand between her thighs and was stroking her clit. He smirked and flipped her so that she was straddling his lap. She took that opportunity to grind against the erection he was sporting. He groaned.

"Does that feel good my petite?" He growled out at her as he continued his ministrations at her core.

"Yes." She moaned out.

"Yes what?" He inquired and stopped moving his fingers immediately. Waiting.

"Yes sir." She said.

"That's my girl." He said and resumed. "So wet for me. So eager for my touch."

'Yes sir." She repeated.

"Stand up." He instructed. Confused and slightly annoyed Ginny followed his order without the slightest hesitation. She was quite enjoying playing on his lap.

"Disrobe, now." He commanded again, and a moment later her clothes were gone and she stood naked before him. With very little effort he lifted her onto the table where he had been waiting for his dinner, before he was rudely interrupted by unexpected visitors.

All for the best he thought, now he got to feast on something much more delicious. He smirked wickedly as he pushed her onto her back. He pulled his chair up so that his face was level with her sweet pink core between her spread knees.

"I'm going to eat you now." He said and before he could wait for her reply he was licking and nipping at her nether lips. Using his fingers he unfolded her blossom and lapped the nectar at her slit. This was by far his favorite meal he thought as he slipped his tongue inside of her basking in the sounds of her moans.

When she was on the edge, due to his carefully placed strokes against her clitoris he backed away slightly.

"Please, Bas." She meweled.

"Please what sweetheart?" He coaxed.

"Please, I need to come." She said with authority. Rabastan stroked her clit once more.

"Then come." He said and repeated the stroke as she let go and her climax overtook her.

As soon as she was done riding her high she was on her feet and he had her leaning tummy across the mahogany table his cock thrust deep inside of her, pumping in and out until he spurted his own desire into her.

"Oh fuck, gross." A surprised feminine voice complained from the door.

A deep chuckle sounded much moments later as Rabastan was laying across his wife. "I think we may have interrupted something here."

"Indeed. Well we had just come to tell you slags we were leaving, but we can clearly see our presence had already been forgotten." Hermione enunciated and the swift sound of disapparation followed her statement. Ginny and Rabastan burst into laughter.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers. Not Romeo's Juliet you are as always greatly appreciated for being my beta. Warning, Chapter contains mature scenes**.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the shower the morning after she told her husband about changing her program focus. The weekend couldn't come fast enough for her, but she still had to get through her day at the hospital. It had been a long night with little sleep, and Hermione felt depleted.

Antonin had shown his appreciation for her compromise, in every way imaginable the night before, and the past weeks leading up to the decisions had just drained her emotionally. She was glad that they had reached an understanding because she wasn't sure how much longer she could have lasted with being so low on energy and stressed out because of the tension between her and Antonin.

The man may not have said anything to her, but she had not needed words to see that he was angry, annoyed and frustrated with her for not doing what he wanted. And because she loved him, that caused her anxiety.

After she dried her hair and threw the mass of wild curls up into a messy bun, she wrapped the towel around her and walked back into the bedroom where she saw Antonin still sleeping peacefully. As quiet as mouse she dressed in a simple pair of black slacks and clogs and white button down blouse. It was about 7 AM so she had time for a quick cup of tea before she had to leave. She leaned over Antonin's side of the bed and kissed him softly. He stirred, but didn't quite wake-up so she tip-toed out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen.

She set the kettle on the stove and let in the owl that carried Antonin's subscription to the daily Prophet. Hermione of course hated the paper, which had never mentioned anything good about her, and that Skeeter women who had only ever slandered her character and her reputation, but she realized that it was one way Antonin kept up to date on the comings and goings on Wizarding current events. Personally Hermione wished that someone would come up with an actual newspaper that accurately depicted current events, however no such thing existed as yet. Hermione stayed up to date through conversation, she listened to what others talked about, got facts from her friends in the ministry and formed her own understanding of what was going on and why it was important.

She laid the paper neatly on the table at Antonin's usual breakfast spot and prepared her cup of English breakfast tea while she waited for the kettle to whistle.

It didn't fail to do so but a minute later, and she poured the boiling water into her mug and let the leaves seep. She prepared herself some toast, she wasn't normally super hungry in the mornings, but she knew that she should put something in her stomach. She took a bite as she walked to her chair intent on drinking her tea only to the surprise of seeing a very tired Antonin standing in the doorway rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, No. I wanted to catch you before you left today." He said and crossed the tiled floor to kiss her.

"That's sweet, but you're tired, you didn't need to get out of bed." Hermione replied.

"Coffee?" He husband asked hopefully. Hermione shook her head.

"Not yet, but I had it all ready to brew when you woke, so I'll just set it now." Hermione pressed the button on her muggle coffee maker which Antonin found fascinating and she knew he preferred to the magically conjured cup of joe.

"Thanks." He murmured in reply. "Do you work this weekend?"

"I will no longer work the weekends in this program." Hermione said and didn't miss his smile.

"Oh. Okay. Did you want to go out tonight?" he asked.

"No. I thought perhaps we could stay in. I'll pick up a bottle of wine for dinner tonight. And we can maybe watch a movie?"

Hermione had brought home a muggle telly set and DVD player that Antonin wasn't sure of as yet, but she was determined to convert him. For the most part he indulged her muggle gadgets and habits with considerable resolve, and she appreciated it, knowing that most of these things confused him.

"If that is what you want." He said, and Hermione finished her last sip of tea. "What time can I expect you home?"

"I get off work at 4. I'll be home before half-past." Hermione said and kissed her husband goodbye before she flooed to the hospital.

* * *

"Good morning, Madame Fograte," Hermione said cheerfully walking into the room of a patient in the spell damage ward. From what she had been told the elderly witch was anything but pleasant and the sour look on the woman's face confirmed as much. However Hermione having actually had a good morning and determined to start her new career off right, continued to be cheerful.

"Hrumph" The old witch said in reply.

"Why don't we open up some windows and get some sunlight in here for you." Hermione said again in the same upbeat tone.

"No. Keep the blinds closed!" the patient remarked crossly.

"Alright. As you wish, Madame Fograte." Hermione replied, "My name is Hermione and I am a training mediwitch here today. The healer will be in momentarily and we will begin the preliminary examinations."

"Hrumph."

"Mrs. Dolohov, is the patient prepared for the examination?" called the voice of her assigned healer for the day.

"Yes Healer Diggs." Hermione called back out to invite the healer in.

"Mrs. In my day a married witch would not be working." The bitter old woman remarked. Hermione didn't dignify the comment with a response.

They healer and herself completed the examination with ease and confirmed that it was a simple case of a hex gone wrong and reversed the effects leaving the patient to rest and recover.

Hermione's workday was a repeat of one unhappy patient after the other and aside from Mrs. Fograte she had managed to crack a smile from all of them with her charms, so she would say all in all it had been a good day. She only had one hands on day of patient care per week and Hermione found that she looked forward to them. The rest of her training consisted of stocking the stores, brewing simple potions, researching and the likes and while all were important roles, there was something special about patient care that Hermione really enjoyed, even if sick and injured persons were not always the most pleasant to deal with.

Hermione left that afternoon, with a bright smile on her face as she headed to the local market for a bottle of white wine.

She apparated just outside of the cabin and entered in as quietly as she could wanting to surprise her husband. But he wasn't there.

She noticed a note on the table that informed her that he had business to attend to at the ministry but would be home by no later than quarter to six o'clock. She sighed, relaxed to know that he was okay, but disappointed her initial plan would have to wait for another day.

Hermione cast a quick tempus charm and saw that is was already five o'clock and so she set about changing her clothes, lighting some candles in the den area and in the kitchen, placed the wine on ice and set the table. By the time she was done, the floo was roaring to life and her beloved was once again home.

* * *

The wizard went to the kitchen, knowing his wife was home by the fact that there were candles lit, but not seeing her about. He had brought dinner in, since he had been delayed at the Ministry and didn't much feel inclined to cook. He stopped by his favorite French restaurant in Diagon Alley and placed an order for their dinner. He smiled when he saw the table already set and so, using some of his signature charms, magically discarded the take-away containers of their meal and cast a stasis on the food to keep it warm despite it being a three course meal. He placed his favorite appetizer, escargot, (still in the escargot trays thanks to some careful bribing on his part with the manager) on each plate.

He felt rather than saw Hermione a moment before she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his back.

"Hmmm. I'm glad you're home. I was missing you." She said.

"I missed you too Dorogaya." He responded. "I bought dinner."

"I can see that. The girl doesn't want to go out, so the guy brings dinner home. It's really sweet. I see you have escargot there."

"mmhmmm." He hummed in reply before asking. "Have you ever had it?"

"I have," she stated her voice cracking just a little bit. "My parents used to vacation in France every summer, so I've had it many times. Where did you go to get it?" She changed the subject really not wanting to dwell on her parents. They were gone, she had obliviated them and after the war was unable to restore the memories. They were now living their lives as Monica and Wendell Wilkins in Sydney Australia, and they had no children. It was a sore subject for her and one she didn't care to think about, especially when she wanted to enjoy a romantic night in with Antonin.

"Oh, I just picked it up at L'louvre Bistro in Diagon alley. This dish happens to be a favorite of mine." He replied and poured Hermione a glass of the crisp white wine.

"Thank you." She said and let go of him to accept the proffered beverage and taking a gracious sip.

"I would like to make a toast." He announced suddenly as she took her seat at their table. She raised her eyebrows, it was just them there she didn't see the need for one, but she would listen to it anyway. "To you moya dorogaya, for not only thinking of how to resolve our first major disagreement, but finding a way to appease my self admitted patriarchal view and still be happy. I can tell that you had a good day on your first day of training and I'm glad for it because you cannot possibly know how happy you made me last night." He toasted her.

She smiled and took a sip of the cool wine. "Thank you my love. I did have a good day today and I have a good idea of how happy I made you, but I am happy too. I'll counter your toast with one of my own. While we may disagree at times, here is to always endeavoring to find a solution and to moving on." His dove replied and grinned. He nodded and took a gulp from his own glass.

"Can we eat these snails now or what?" He asked in playfulness when he had swallowed the sweet alcohol.

"Of course." Hermione smiled and used her small oyster fork to dig out the said snail from the dish where it soaked in a delicious garlic butter sauce. She ate it and then soaked some fresh French bread into the sauce and consumed it. That was the best part. Antonin watched her eating and smirked. She certainly wasn't afraid of the dish or squeamish about it either. She ate it with a gusto that made him proud but that would abhor his mother. Instead of commenting he savored his own as he watched his wife repeat her earlier action with her second snail.

When the appetizer was done, Antonin waved his wand again to place their entrees in front of them. He had selected Coq au vin, a chicken dish that was braised in red wine with lardons and mushrooms. Hermione seemed pleased with his choice and they chatted while they ate. Antonin listened with genuine interest as she told him of her day.

For dessert they shared a raspberry Clafoutis, a simple rustic pie alternative which is dusted with powder sugar. Hermione had only ever tried the cherry original so it was in interesting take on the traditional dessert.

Antonin listened as his wife moaned at her first bite and his mouth went dry, it was the same sound she made when he was between her thighs enjoying his favorite dessert, her, and he felt his body harden in response. By the time they had finished he wanted nothing more than to take his pleasure with her, but the blasted women wanted to watch a movie. So instead of where he wanted to be, he found himself on the couch his little witch curled up next to him resting her head on his shoulder.

Ten minutes into the movie, some foreign film about some crazy kings' younger wife's affair with his favorite physician, he had no idea what the film was named, just as he had resigned himself to wait until later to fulfill his fantasies with her, Hermione leaned in and kissed him deeply. It was a passionate kiss where she greedily devoured his need for her and expressed to him just how much she desired him. Antonin, even as he lifted her onto his lap to pull her closer was beginning to see the benefits to owning one of those infernal muggle telly sets, they provided an excellent excuse to make out with his wife.

Hermione was grinding her pelvis against the bulge constrained in his trousers which elicited a low groan from him. He retaliated by rocking his hips to rub against her center which rewarded him with a moan which he swallowed in the kiss.

They continued on like this for some time and despite the occasional distraction from the foreign language the wizard had long lost interest in the movie. But eventually she broke the kiss and they stared longingly into each others eyes. That is until his witch sunk to her knees before him a mischievous grin on her face. Hermione reached for Antonin's belt and unbuckled the metal clasp, then she unbuttoned the trousers before ever so slowly pulling the zipper downwards. Without realizing it, he lifted his hips as she tugged the trousers down slightly to more easily release his throbbing cock from it's polyester prison.

Hermione licked her lips unconsciously and Antonin's skin prickled with anticipation. The only sound was his sharp intake of breath when she closed her fingers over him and he was drunk with arousal.

Hermione looked up at her husband, still tentative in doing what she was about to do because they had not done this often. Her whiskey hues eyes met his diluting blue ones as she moved her hand up and down his member. He groaned again and she broke her gaze only to gently press her tongue to his tip and lick away the precum. A moment later and her mouth completely engulfed his cock in her wet heat and she hollowed her cheeks to suck on him.

Antonin lost in the sinful feeling of her sucking on him tipped his head back and his jaw slackend a little. The witch moaned around his cock and he cried out at the vibrations that occured at her sound. As she alternated between licking his head and sucking on him he was dizzy with the sexy image of her on her knees with him in her mouth. Her gaze trickled up to his once more and she took hold of his balls gently and rolled them in her other hand. Reflexively he arched his hips and thrust into her more deeply. She only gagged a little but with gentle coaxing from him relaxed her throat and drew him all the way in.

She moaned and Antonin saw stars. He felt himself on the edge. "Hermione. Hmmm, feels good, shot, I'm gonna cum. Can you swallow it?" He mumbled as she sucked on him. She made an affirmative sound around him and he let himself fall over the cliff, pouring his seed down her throat. Hermione gulped all of him down and when she was sure that there was no more of his sperm to drink she released his now limp penis with a pop and continued to kneel before him. They were both panting.

"Merlin witch." Is all he said.

"Did I do okay?" She asked hesitantly.

"Alright? Alright? vy sovershenstvo. Kak ya poluchil tak povezlo?" He rasped out slipping into his native tongue.

"'Tonin. I don't speak Russian." Hermione simpered nervously, but judging by his tone she didn't think he was cursing at her.

"My god woman. You are perfection. I was saying I don't know how I got so lucky. Now come up here. Because I am not even close to done with you."

Hermione content that he was relaxed and pleased clambered onto his lap and kissed him again. Not much later and he was erect again and Hermione's own desire was pooling in her knickers. The wizard ripped the lace off of her and thrust himself into her core. And as she was straddling him she moved her body up and down on him taking every inch he had to offer and riding him until they both plummeted into the abyss of their climax.

Sometime later He carried his sleeping witch to their bedroom and held her close to him, sated in the events earlier in the den and he himself allowed sleep to claim him. While the couple lay naked and wrapped in each others arms, his seed takes root in her and a new little life was conceived.

* * *

The film represented is A Royal affair.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I know this is a short one, ill try and write more in next weeks update, I just ran out of time to write. I hope you all enjoy, and a special shout out to my beta Not Romeo's Juliet**

Hermione was slightly annoyed with her training in the month and a half since she had begun. When she was a healer trainee, she had much more person to person contact then she did now. She certainly understood that healers were the certified persons responsible for curing the number of problems that went wrong with a magical person's health. However, she felt like now she was more of a glorified researcher than she was anything else.

She spent countless days in the hospital medical library researching ailments and potential fixes for them, or pouring over case files brainstorming what the likely culprit was for a patient's symptoms. While the work itself was rewarding, and anybody who knew her, could tell she enjoyed the reading aspect, she was beginning to feel slightly bored without being able to really apply the knowledge.

When she wasn't researching she was more often than not found stocking the supply closets with the various potions, bandages, bedsheets and other items that one could find in a hospital.

She knew she liked the job, and was content with her chosen career change. The hours were nice, the knowledge she gained was involved and rewarding, and she liked her mentors, so she couldn't figure out exactly why she was feeling particularly down lately.

The youthful witch was feeling particularly melancholy one Monday. Her morning had been off from the moment she woke up, Antonin had been particularly involved in his charm creating lately that he was spending more time holed up in his study and he wasn't in bed when she awoke. She was glad that he was so passionate in his work and from what he relayed to her he was very happy with some of the progressions he was making. He seemed very happy and she was glad to see him so focused, it was just odd to waking up to an empty bed.

Hermione got to work and had somebody pour coffee on her walking too fast own a hallway. A quick scourify charm had cleaned it up for the most part, but it did stain her work apron. She was researching that day, and had a stack of files to look at that she just didn't feel like reading, and a particularly pratish healer had tried to robe her into cleaning bedpans which she forcefully replied that she was a training mediwitch not a hospital aide and that he could either find such an aide or clean his own bedpans. This however, got her written up. By her lunchbreak, much later than her usual noon, she had gotten to the cafeteria only to find that the aroma had caused her stomach to churn and she went running down the hospital halls to the nearest loo where she emptied her meagre breakfast of oatmeal into the toilet.

That wasn't the worst part either. No, it just so happened that her attending mediwitch was in the same loo and had insisted that she get herself examined.

"I'm really fine, Madame Davis, feeling much better." Hermione had protested.

"Hermione, I won't allow you to return to work until you have been checked out." The witch interjected and placed her hands on her hips.

"Fine." Hermione agreed.

Madame Davis had run a diagnostics scan on her with her wand and pressed her lips together in a thin line at one point. "Well, it seems that you re perfectly healthy Hermione, All of the crucial scans come back clean, you are however six weeks pregnant." She proclaimed.

"I'm what?"

"You are with child, Mrs. Dolohov. Congratulations."

Hermione was struck speechless. The mediwitch began a small speech.

"Now I'm going to want to get you started on your prenatal potions, and schedule you for a scan in the next weeks just to see how things are progressing here. I assure you that a pregnancy will not interfere with the day to day of your training program however, you will need to inform the board of this development as you will be expected to take a maternity leave when the babe is born. Hermione, I am sending you home for the day, actually, the week. Take the week off, I can see that this is a shock for you, and the most important priority is to keep you two healthy. This certainly explains some of your moments here…" Madame Davis commented at the end and earned a glare from Hermione.

A small parcel of potions in hand Hermione was booted out of St. Mungos for the day and into the floo towards home. It was only three o'clock and over an hour earlier than her normal schedule, so Hermione wasn't surprised to find Antonin still in his study working.

He seemed lost in his work, his hair was hanging in his face and he was writing like crazy in what she now recognized as his spell journal. He was so engaged in his activity that she stood there for a long while, quietly watching him, relaxing as she did so.

At some point he looked up and saw her standing there. He grinned. "Dorogaya! Perfect. Come here, I've been waiting to have you try something." He exclaimed and even as her feet glided across the floor towards him she moved her mouth to try and tell him the news. She couldn't find the words seeing as how he was so excited by something.

She pulled her wand out, knowing he wanted her to try one of his charms out, and he nodded at her movement.

"I've created a protection charm. One much longer lasting and more forceful than a simple protego." Antonin began. "I want you to move your arm clockwise once holding your elbow as close to your body as possible, and then say maksimal'noye otkloneniye." He instructed his wife. Hermione recognized the language as his Native Russian and smiled. Of course he would use Russian for his charms instead of the traditional Latin, he was making his signature.

Moving her wand as he had asked she enunciated the phrase. "maksimal'noye otkloneniye." Suddenly a blue light shot from her wand and formed a bubble around her. Antonin raised his wand and shot the jelly leg jinx at her only to find that it was deflected and bounced back towards him. He avoided being hit by using a protego charm. Then he charged her, only to be forced backwards before he could come within a foot of her.

Hermione stared at him, the spell reminded her of the protection spell that surrounded Hogwarts at the beginning of the final battle… except it was for a person. Interesting.

Suddenly Antonin frowned, having seen a clock, but Hermione thought it was something with the spell. "Antonin?" she asked and finited the charm.

"Why are you home so early, are you okay?" He asked abruptly.

"Yes, I'm fine. Err, well. I do have some news. You may want to sit down."

"What is going on, Hermione?" he growled as he sat back in his chair. Hermione ignored his irritation and settled herself onto his lap and kisses his cheek.

"I got sick and lunch today." She began and saw his frown deepen. "And of course my attending forced me to get myself examined. She wouldn't let me go back to work until I did, so I didn't argue much and had her run the scans. I'm fine, really, nothing is wrong, I'm just well… I'm pregnant." She announced.

Antonin stared at her for a moment before his face morphed into an ear splitting grin. "I'm going to be a father?" he choked out a moment later.

Hermione sighed, knowing this news would make him happy, but not sure how she felt about it herself just yet. She had always wanted a family, but was it wrong that she hoped she would have had a little more time. Though honestly she couldn't be surprised, they went at it like bunnies in the springtime, so it was bound to happen at some point. She smiled back at him.

"Yup." She said. Antonin couldn't wipe the goofy grin off of his face, but he furrowed his brow at his wife's response. Wisely he didn't say anything, he just held her for a moment.

"Dorogaya," he cautiously swallowed "It doesn't sound like you are thrilled about this…"

"Oh 'Tonin, It's not that I'm not happy." Hermione reassured. "You know that I've always wanted to be a mom, and I love you and I want to have your babies and for us to be a family. It's just that this came as a shock today and I keep thinking that it seems all so much faster than I had wanted."

"Well are you perhaps not wanting a child now?" Antonin asked and hated himself for showing his fear of what his wife might to. To his great relief she look horrified by the prospect.

"Merlin, No!" She exclaimed. "For Salazar's sake Antonin Dolohov, how could you even think that?" She was yelling slightly, angry that her husband would even think that she might give up a child. He soothed her rising temper quickly by stroking her back with one hand and placing his hand over her belly with the other.

"Hush now, I was only asking. You know how much a family means to me and I wasn't trying to upset you but I had to know." Hermione relaxed on his lap and laid her head on his muscular shoulder.

"I want this baby, love. Of course I do. I just wasn't expecting a family so soon in our marriage." She commented.

"Well, I guess my seed had other plans." He said with a smirk and she laughed.

"I guess so."

"So did you come home early just to tell me the wonderful news?"

"Well, no. I was sent home and told not to return until next week. It seems my attending wants to ensure that I recover from the shock and get settled with the idea before I return to duty. But she assured me it wouldn't interfere any with my program, until maternity leave."

Antonin remained silent. Now more than ever he wanted to have Hermione stay home, and he wasn't sure a maternity leave was going to cut it. But he didn't want to rehash an old argument, and he knew she would be livid if he mentioned his opinion further. Besides Hermione would be unhappy at home without a career and as hard as it was for him to understand why, he didn't want her miserable.

"How far along are you?" He asked.

"She said six weeks." Hermione replied.

"And you got sick at lunch?"

"Morning sickness." She replied dreadfully. 'I don't know, I got to the cafeteria and the smells there just caused my stomach to turn."

"You haven't eaten anything today than have you?"

"Well, oatmeal this morning before I left, but yes I'm hungry."

"Okay love. I'll make dinner. What sounds good to you?"

"Honestly? Ice cream sounds amazing right now. That and chicken, oooh and maybe waffles." She pleaded. Her husband made a disgusted face, but sighed.

"Whoever eats chicken and waffles together?" He muttered.

"A lot of people do!" Hermione reproached him indignantly. "It's very popular in America."

"Fine, fine. I'll make you chicken and waffles."

"It had better be fried chicken!"

"Fried chicken and waffles." He amended and she hopped of his lap to let him rise. He leaned down and kissed Hermione deeply on the lips and drew her into his arms. "You have no idea how happy you have made me." He told her when he broke the kiss.

"I have an idea." She grinned.

'Go upstairs and rest. I'll come and get you when dinner is ready." He said.

"That charm is amazing." Hermione told him, not really wanting to lay down.

"Later my dear. Bed now." He ordered and she sighed but went to their bedroom and selected one of her favorite books and curled up to read under the covers.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks to all of my readers! And thank you to my beta Not Romeo's Juliette. Here is Chapter 17.**

* * *

Hermione was propped against the pillows in the bed she shared with Antonin and had curled her legs under her as she read one of her favorites, _Wuthering Heights_. That was how her husband found her when he came upstairs to tell her that dinner was ready.

Antonin stood in the doorway for a time just watching his beautiful wife reading. The witch looked so peaceful and content whenever she held a book in her small hands. He smiled and then cleared his throat, which caused Hermione to look up at him. She smiled softly at him in return.

"I came to tell you that dinner is ready. Chicken and waffles for you and chicken Caesar salad for me." He said.

"Okay. I'll be right down." She replied and rose from her position on the bed. She was still dressed in her work clothes and wanted to change into something more comfortable. She opened up her dresser to pull out a worn out and faded pair of pink pig pajama's that she had owned since she was thirteen and an old Quiddach Jersey which she was pretty sure she had been gifted by Viktor Krum back in fourth year. Once she dressed in her comfort clothes, the ones she only broke out after (either the best or the worst) stressful days, she bounded down the stairs.

Antonin took one look at his wife when she appeared in the kitchen and burst into laughter. This earned him a glare.

"I'm sorry Dorogaya, but I don't think you could look cuter if you tried." He said between peals of laughter. She said nothing because by that point the witch had found her waffles and had begun to dig in and eat the fantastic carbs covered in a delicious maple syrup. In between each bite of syrupy goodness, she would eat some of the crispy chicken. She was amazed that she was eating this, she had always been appalled by the fact that people mixed the two foods together, and she had never even been one to really like waffles in the first place. But her Pregnancy cravings had spoken and each forkful satisfied her hunger and her pining.

Antonin meanwhile was attempting to eat his meagre salad, but was put off by the fact that his wife was literally pigging out on what looked to be the most unappetizing substance he had ever cooked. He still had a half a plate of food left when she had cleaned hers off.

"Going to lick the platter too?" He asked sarcastically.

"Shut Up!" his wife hissed and then she laughed. "Oh Merlin, I'm so, so sorry. I'm such a cow." She apologized.

"Now, dorogaya, you are not a cow."

"Oh don't lie to me. I inhaled my food, which mind you was probably the most disgusting meal in theory, but for some weird reason was the best thing to me at the moment, and I didn't even care one ounce for table manners. You're completely grossed out."

"Well, you are not wrong," the wizard said and grinned "But it was highly amusing to watch." It was the wrong thing to say.

"I'm so glad I can be the entertainment while you feast!" Hermione said sharply and got up from the table and rushed upstairs to the bedroom.

Well, Antonin thought, that went well…. He sighed heavily and followed his wife. When he walked into their room she made a disgruntled sound and turned her back to him. Undeterred he laid himself on the side of the bed where she would see him. Hermione turned her back on him again.

His hands snaked around to pull her back into his chest and he rested his hands on her stomach. He began to talk lowly to the baby.

"Hullo there little guy, I'm your daddy. And I'm excited for you to arrive." He started and Hermione despite being upset smiled. "Could you tell your mommy that I'm sorry?" he asked softly and she sighed.

"Or you could just tell me yourself." She murmured.

"I am sorry Dorogaya. I don't think you are a cow, and I don't mean to make you feel like you are a source of entertainment. I am crap at this it would seem. As much as I have always wanted a family I have not been around many pregnant witches."

"Its hormones. I wouldn't normally be so sensitive but my levels are just off so I will crave weird shirt, and be far more emotional than I care to admit. I apologize as well, I'm a right terror sometimes and I don't think this little guy here is going to make it any better." She said and rolled back over to face her husband, and snuggle her face into his shoulder. He kissed her head.

"No babies have a way of doing the exact opposite of making things easy. But I'm so happy we will be having one of our own."

"What do you want it to be?" she asked.

"I want a baby, I don't really care what it is dorogaya. I mean, I naturally would love to have a boy to carry on my family name and to raise in my image, but I also want a little girl to dote upon and spoil. It doesn't matter which one comes first."

"I don't know what I want." Hermione confessed. "I've always gotten along better with boys, I don't know what I would do if it's a girl, but then on the other hand, boys are so troublesome." She smirked. "I have enough love in my heart for one of each."

"Good." He said, "I do as well." Hermione yawned. "You're tired dorogaya. You should rest."

"Tell me about your shield charm." Hermione demanded as she nestled under the covers for the night.

"A bedtime story love?" He asked.

"Yup. Consider yourself lucky I'm not making you read my book to me." She said with mirth.

"Lucky indeed. The charm is something I've been adapting since I was a recent graduate from Hogwarts myself. At the time, I wasn't yet marked, but I knew that war was on the horizon. I was in love." He began. Hermione's brow furrowed. This sounded like a sad story.

"'Tonin, you don't have to tell me this if you don't want to." She whispered. He leaned in and kissed her softly.

"No, I want you to know." He said and then continued. "The witch I was in love with was a Ravenclaw and had graduated with me, but she was a half-blood. I had plans to ask her to marry me, but my father had other ideas. He gave me an ultimatum, either I join the Dark Lord's forces and end my relationship with Rhea, or he would hunt us down and kills us."

"Oh Antonin." Hermione cried out, "That's horrible."

"I chose to join because I couldn't watch her die, and the moment I did join up, my father and a group of his cronies went to her family's home and tortured and killed them all. When I found out, let's just say my father did not meet a happy end. In my grief I began testing shield charms and trying to strengthen them. I wanted to be able to protect myself and anything else I cared for from harm, though at the time I never expected to love anything ever again."

"I'm sorry." Hermione said again and began to rub his back softly, tenderly.

"Naturally as I got more involved in the dark arts and the world of being a deatheater, I became more noticed. Then Bellatrix cursed me and all of my work on the charm stopped, and I began creating curses and charms in the service of that madman. You would recognize one such curse…" Antonin cut off and traced the purple scar from her shoulder to her hip.

"Oh." Was all Hermione could say as her throat closed up.

"I was good at creating them, and my work was praised by the dark lord and It's how I moved up through the ranks, even if most of those horrible creations where born under the orders of a deranged bitch. I can't say that I didn't enjoy it, though. On some twisted level, I loved it, the research, the sense of achievement when I successfully created one and knowing more than most wizards do. But I am not proud of the types I created, and the things they did to people."

"I suppose I know what you mean. It's the work that you enjoyed, just like I always loved the research I put into an essay, even if I hated the outcome." Hermione commented making a mediocre comparison at best. Antonin didn't point that fact out appreciating her trying to understand. The thing was he was a dark wizard and some part of him appreciated what his curses could do, enjoyed see them in use, even if the larger part of him was devastated by the destruction they caused. He chose to continue.

"Then after the trials, I wasn't sure what to do with myself, I kept looking back on my signature charms and feeling dismay, until I was told I'd be marrying you. The moment I knew I loved you Hermione, I knew I had to find some way to protect you. I never expected to feel for you the way I do, I thought I left my heart behind when I watched Rhea buried in the ground. I was intrigued by you, attracted to you, desired after you, but I didn't think I could love you. But I fell in love with you, and I began research ching and experimenting with the protection charms again. I never want to have something I love taken from me again. So Promise me that you will use that charm if you ever feel threatened." He said and Hermione could see his beautiful blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I promise." She vowed and kissed him on his lips. "That was not the story I was expecting."

"No?"

"I thought it would be happier. I never knew you had experienced so much pain."

"I can tell you a happy story if you wish."

"No." his dove muttered. "No more stories. It's bedtime, I just want you to hold me."

"I can do that." He said in reply and pulled her close to his chest, and listened as her breathing evened out and slowed slightly. Once he knew she was sleeping he closed his own eyes.

* * *

The next morning Hermione was hit with a sudden nausea and she quickly extracted herself from the bedsheets and Antonin's hold and ran to the bathroom, barley making it to the toilet in time before emptying the contents of her stomach.

As she vomited the remains of the previous night's dinner, Antonin had woken and entered the restroom to kneel beside his wife. He reached for her hair and held it out of harm's way while stroking her back to sooth her.

"I'm hideous, go away." She moaned.

"You are not hideous." He replied.

"This is gross. Please Antonin, I don't want you to see me like this." She insisted and he sighed.

"Okay Dorogaya. I'll just go see about getting you some dry toast." He commented as he rose.

"Don't talk about food." She groaned.

"It will help, trust me." He said and left the room.

Five minutes passed before Hermione shuffled down the stairs and to the kitchen. Antonin's back was turned which was good because at that moment she was shooting daggers with her eyes in his direction. But she knew it wasn't quite fair to put the blame on him, he was trying to help.

All she knew was that morning sickness was getting old fast. She silently prayed that the effects of it didn't last long.

She sank into a chair at the table as her husband set a plate of a single piece of toast and a cup of tea in front of her. She begrudgingly consumed them both, half expecting to go running back to the bathroom. But it seemed to ease the churning in her gut and within a couple of minutes she felt better.

"I'm going to Floo Ginny to tell her the news." Hermione said suddenly.

"Right now?" he asked in reply and looked at her. It took Hermione a moment but she realized he was giving her a once over which caused her to realize she was still dressed in pants with pigs on them and a shirt that she didn't doubt had gross stuff splattered on it, though she didn't really care to know that for certain.

"Well, no. I'm going to shower and change first." She amended.

"Want company?" he asked slyly. And Hermione just glared at him, hormones on the rise again.

"No! Have you not done enough to me?" She exclaimed wildly. Antonin had to hold in his laughter as she stomped away, and when she was out of hearing a couple of chuckles escaped him.

Having a pregnant wife was going to be an experience. His wife was a force to be reckoned with on a normal basis, but now she was even more so, and she really was quite amusing. But he wouldn't be telling her that, she could be scary too.

Hermione reappeared within half an hour dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a grey hoodie.

"Now, I'm flooing to Ginny's."

"I'll meet you there." He said.

"What? Why?" she protested.

"Because I would also like to tell my friend the happy news." He remarked.

"Oh. Well okay then."

He watched with a slight shake to his head as his little wife entered the fireplace and called out "Lestrange manor."

Rabastan and Ginny were eating breakfast when they heard their floo roar to life. A second later, an elf popped in.

"Mistress, Mrs. Dolohov is here." It squeaked.

"Hermione?" She commented slightly, then got angry. What did that bastard do to her now? Hermione should be at work, not in her fireplace. The redheaded witch shot up from the table before her husband could say a word and was out of the dining room greeting her best friend.

"'Mione. What's wrong?" She yelled as she appeared in the foyer.

"Wrong? Nothing." Hermione said.

"What are you doing here? Why are you not at work? What did that horrible man do to you?" The other witch continued not hearing Hermione's first answer.

"Calm Down!" Rabastan shouted over his wife as he entered the foyer, "Let her get a word in edgewise would you woman?"

Ginny shot an icy glance his way but quieted none the less.

"Ginny. Nothing is wrong." Hermione insisted. "I came to visit, I have some news for you." She said.

"Oh, of course." Ginny said embarrassed to have overreacted and kept her guest standing in the cold hall. "Would you like some breakfast?" Hermione's face turned green and she clamped her hands over her mouth and shook her head.

"No! Anything but food." She exclaimed. Ginny looked at her with concern, but Rabastan smirked recognizing the signs from all of the times Bellatrix was pregnant, before she miscarried, of course.

"Okay, no food then. Just come sit down in the sun room here." Ginny said and took Hermione's elbow before leading her to a smaller side room, aptly named due to its large windows which bathed the entire floor in a golden light. "What did you have to tell me?" Ginny inquired.

"I'm Pregnant." Hermione said as she looked her friend in the eye, Ginny's entire demeanor changed.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thank you to my Beta Not Romeo's Juliette and all of my readers and reviewers.**

The red headed witch who had previously worn an expression of concerned worry broke in to a Cheshire grin at the news Hermione had just announced.

"Oh my Godric, 'Mione, congratulations!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Thank You." Hermione replied in a flat tone, and she considered herself lucky that Ginny hadn't picked up on it.

"When did you find out?" her friend questioned.

"Yesterday at work. It was a crap day really, and I was forced to take my lunch later than I would normally and well I got sick when I made it to St. Mungo's cafeteria which is skeptical on a good day, and just revolting at 2:00 on a bad day. Of course I had to be examined, and well yup I'm pregnant." Hermione explained a shortened version of her experience the day prior.

"How far along?" Came another prompt.

"About six weeks." Hermione answered and she could practically see the cogs turning in her best girlfriend's mind.

"Six weeks," Ginny began muttering to herself. "Six weeks since you changed your program…. Ah." The younger witch looked at Hermione with an accusatory purse to her lips. "You conceived the night you told Antonin you changed your program!"

Hermione hadn't thought about exactly when she would have become pregnant more then she thought about the fact that she was, so it had not really occurred to her when she might have conceived. But now that it had been brought to her attention in an upfront manner, she couldn't deny that it was logical. Six weeks ago she and Antonin were in that funk over her career path and his desire for a family, and when she had changed her program they did have a quite pleasant night curled in each other's arms. So she figured that Ginny must be right, not that it mattered to her exactly what coupling knocked her up.

"I suppose so," the brunette muttered.

"Would you like some tea, do you have time?" Ginny asked.

"Well I don't know if you have any non-caffeinated tea but it sounds nice, and yes I have time considering I was given the week off from work." Hermione replied.

"Tippy." Ginny called and faster than you could think snap, crackle and pop there was a somewhat loud crack and a small house elf with big floppy ears stood before them.

"Yes Mistress?" the creature squeaked.

"Tippy you know you should call me Ginny," her friend corrected kindly. "Hermione and I fancy a bit of tea, however, Hermione cannot have anything caffeinated at the moment and would prefer an herbal blend if possible." She instructed.

"Yes, of course Miss Ginny. Miss Hermione do you have a flavor preference?"

"Oh no, Tippy, whatever you have is fine. Thank you." Hermione said to the elf, and a moment later it had disappeared to do its bidding.

Hermione had learned a thing or two about house elves through conversations with her husband. She had been informed that her work on S.P.E.W. had made her very unpopular among the elves because they enjoyed serving. To Hermione, it was simply abhorrent that any living being was mandated into indentured servitude, and it was difficult to wrap her mind around the fact that elves lived to serve. Freedom to most elves was a terrifying prospect and so even though she struggled with it, Hermione had stopped offering clothes and wages to the elves and they were slowly coming around to her again. Though she had adamantly refused to have one in her employ.

"What does Antonin think about it?" Ginny asked breaking Hermione from her reverie.

"He is thrilled, naturally. You know how he feels about starting a family. I think I made his night when I told him."

"Well aren't you excited?" her friend inquired a worried frown once again creasing her brow.

"I'm, I don't know Gin. I'm not unexcited. I do want a family, I have always wanted to be a mother. And I don't know if it's just the shock of having found out yesterday or something else but I almost feel as though it is just too soon." Hermione confessed.

"Oh." Ginny mentioned.

"I mean I'm having the baby, because I want it, Antonin had seemed worried about that when I told him yesterday, I just had hoped for a little more time. My life has barely begun and babies have a way of interfering…"

Hermione was perplexed about her plight because she wasn't certain how well her compromise with Antonin would hold. The wizard had made it abundantly clear to her that he had expected her to be a stay at home mother, and while she was aware that they had agreed that she wouldn't be, they had barely been allotted the opportunity to grow used to the idea. She had been tormented the whole night with the fear that he would somehow revoke his side of the bargain and that she would be banned from working.

The truth was they lived in a society which very much catered to the rule of wizards, and if her husband so willed it, there was no place in the wizarding world who would go against him and hire her. She felt that she lived in the medieval ages in the muggle world the way her entire life could be controlled by a few words spoken by a man. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, though if she spoke her thoughts aloud it would come across as such, it was more that she was overwhelmed and when she was overwhelmed she tended to overthink every possibility that could affect her.

"So you wanted more time," Ginny coaxed. "And you feel as though the sudden development will affect your life in ways that you are not sure you want. Have you discussed this with him?"

"No! I can't tell Antonin this exactly, I don't know how he would react to it." Hermione replied.

"I see," the witch said even though she didn't. "Well then you have to let the cards fall where they may. You are making the choice to keep the baby but not voice your fear to the father and you will have to face the consequences that arise from that decision." Ginny reasoned.

"I know." Hermione groaned and put her hands up to her face. "It's stressful." She admitted.

"Oh honey. I know it is. But I'm here to support you, Harry and Ron will support you, and I'm sure that if you gave him the chance that the most support you will receive is from you husband." She attempted to comfort. It only caused to make Hermione cry.

While the two witches were conversing in the sun room, Rabastan had made himself busy with making up a list of foods that would help with morning sickness. Since it was Bella whom the copper haired wizard drew his knowledge from, and realizing that Antonin's wife and his former sister-in-law had a history, he wasn't going to tell her where the insight came from. He wondered if he should even give the list to her.

As that thought crossed his mind the Floo once again roared to life and he glanced up to see that Antonin had just crossed the threshold.

"Antonin." He greeted with a nod to his head. "Come to fetch your bride?"

"No, actually I will eventually, but I have some news." Antonin replied and lowered himself into the chair on the opposite side of Rabastan's desk.

The other wizard gave him a knowing smirk and poured him a small amount of scotch from the crystal canister.

"A bit early, yeah?" Antonin queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Mate, for the news you have, it's never too early, enjoy it while you can." Rabastan replied coyly, revealing that he knew the news but not impeding his friend's ability to tell him outright.

"Fine, I will." Replied the older wizard and took a sip of the burning alcohol. "Hermione is pregnant" he stated eventually and took another sip.

"Ah, I had gathered as much. I'm happy for you." Rabastan replied. "Your wife arrived and literally turned green when Ginevra mentioned breakfast. That was the tell. I believe she is telling my wife the news as we speak." Rabastan only referred to his young wife by her full given name when she was well out of earshot, lest she become enraged. It was a lovely name, he wasn't sure why she hated it so.

"Is she sick?" Antonin asked, immediately worried.

"No, no, she was fine, once she sat down."

"Good." Antonin calmed.

"When did you find out?" he asked after several moments of peaceful quiet.

"She told me yesterday, right after she found out."

"And how is she coping?"

"I don't know, Bas. I mean she seems unenthused about it. I don't know why, she said she had just hoped that we would have had a little more time and that it wasn't over the idea of being pregnant, but I wonder if there is something more." Antonin replied, glad to have someone to confide in.

"Well Antonin, try to think about it from her perspective. The girl is what, eighteen, nineteen?"

"Nineteen." Antonin confirmed.

"Right, she's young, and not only is she young, but she has spent the majority of her time coming of age, fighting against a megalomaniac and his followers in a brutal war that children had no business fighting in. She is literally just starting her life outside of school and without violence and destruction looming overhead, the Lass probably is afraid that having a wee one around will interfere in her chance to live a little." Rabastan said.

"I realize she is young, and I wouldn't dream of holding her back." Antonin objected.

"I know that, but she doesn't necessarily. She knows you wouldn't want to, but in her mind a baby is something that takes away youth. You are older Antonin, and have experienced things in life, she is likely a little envious of that because you are at a point in your life where you are ready for a family, Hermione isn't there yet. Give her some time and reassure her that you won't allow her to put her whole life on hold just because you are going to be parents."

"I see your point." The dark haired wizard commented. He hadn't thought about it from that perspective and now realized that Rabastan was right. He himself was overjoyed because he wasn't so young anymore and he wanted to have a legacy to pass his name onto, but for his dove, she was afraid of how much having a baby would push her dreams to the side.

Before either wizard could say anything further, a timid looking elf appeared in Rabastan's study and began frantically yelling.

"Master, Master!" it exclaimed "I went to bring tea to mistress and her friend and the guest is pouring tears from eyes and moaning and mistress is distressed and said to gets you's, that you's would know what to do."

Rabastan regarded the creature coolly. "Thank you Tippy. I will see to it." He said dismissively before turning to his friend. "Because apparently she thinks that crying women are my expertise."

"Clearly she doesn't know you at all," Antonin chuckled even as he rose to go and find what upset his own wife so.

"Oh before I forget. You know that Bella miscarried three times right?" Rabastan asked as they began in the direction of the sunroom.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, I picked up on a few things from her pregnancies, I made you a list of some foods that help with the morning sickness and some other things that might help to stabilize mood swings." He answered and handed his friend the list. "I thought it might help."

"Thank you." Antonin replied, before opening the door to the sunroom to find his wife sitting on the floor and the redheaded weaslette holding her trying to sooth her but seeming to be saying all the wrong things.

"Oh Thank Merlin!" the witch cried out upon seeing Antonin. He waved his hand in a shooing motion to signal to let him get closer to his wife. The witch moved out of his way begrudgingly and he sat behind his wife and pulled her onto his lap and began making shushing sounds.

After a couple of moment's Hermione had ceased crying and turned her face into his shirt and wrapped her arms around him making some sniffling noises. He continued to comfort her and glared at Ginny who looked at him contritely.

"I think perhaps you should take her home Dolohov." She said. "She is clearly distraught."

"Yes, I wonder why that is," He grumbled and Hermione elbowed him.

"It's not her fault, really it's not." His wife said finally able to form words. "It's the bloody hormones. I'm just super sensitive. She just didn't know what to do."

"I'm still taking you home dorogaya. You need to rest." He said. Hermione nodded, but made no move to rise from her position on the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and after a polite farewell to their hosts strode towards the fireplace and dropped floo powder calling "Rosewood Cottage."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you all had a Hapy Christmas, or other holiday you celebrate. And I have a new beta I would like to thank, lillifitz4 who will be taking over from this point forward, thanks so much for your help.**

When the green smoke cleared Antonin carefully stepped out of the fireplace holding on to his precious cargo and carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom. His dove had already drifted off in his arms, which he wasn't surprised by. She had been tossing and turning all night, he hadn't mentioned it that morning because he didn't want to set her off. But he knew that she didn't get enough sleep.

He laid her gently on the bed and pulled the covers over her, gently caressing her belly as he did.

"Goodnight my darlings," the wizard whispered to both his wife and baby before he soundlessly closed the door behind him. He went into his study and pulled out the few pages of parchment that Rabastan had given him. _Well he was certainly thorough,_ Antonin thought as he skimmed over the list.

Apparently one of Bella's favorites had been mashed potatoes and gravy. He decided that he would try that tonight with Hermione, as he locked the list securely in his desk, he didn't want his wife to discover the list and start asking questions. He couldn't imagine that she would be particular pleased to find out that she was similar to Bellatrix in anything, given the past events.

He sighed, mashed potatoes and what? He figured that given last night's sudden cravings for chicken that chicken was a safe bet for Hermione. But he didn't want to do chicken. So instead he would make a simple pork roast. He needed to talk to Hermione about a subject she had been previously adamantly against, but one that he now felt was important.

With a baby on the way, Antonin would be ever more focused on creating charms and spells that would protect his family and make their lives easier, and he would be looking into work as a freelancer curse breaker to provide more for his family. And he knew that Hermione would be wanting to continue with her training and eventually working as a mediwitch, so she wouldn't be home all of the time to provide for the child either. He had a solution, but it was a matter of convincing Hermione to agree. He planned how he might do so and worked on his research well into the afternoon, while Hermione napped.

He had just put the roast into the oven and was peeling potatoes when Hermione's soft footsteps crossed the kitchen tile and moved towards him.

"Want some help?" she offered. He laughed.

"Please don't take offense my love, but no. You Dorogaya are banned from cooking."

"I know, It's just I thought it would be nice if I offered." She said happily not having taken his statement wrong at all.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"I'm…" She was going to say fine, but she knew that they both knew that mere hours ago she was anything but fine. "I'm better." She admitted.

"Good."

"What are you making for dinner?" the witch inquired.

"I wasn't sure what you would have wanted." He began cautiously. "So I just put in a pork roast lightly seasoned, and mashed potatoes and gravy."

"Oh yum, that sounds good, actually." She said. "Would it be too much trouble to add Asparagus with it?"

"No trouble at all." He replied.

"Thank you."

"We should talk, dorogaya. You were very upset when I found you this morning, would you like to tell me what caused you to fall out of sorts?"

"Honestly 'Tonin, It wasn't anything much. I just couldn't stop crying once I started, but Ginny had just said something that all of my friends would support me and that of course you would also, and I was just overcome by so much happiness I burst into tears. It's silly, you shouldn't trouble yourself about it."

"I was worried." He commented.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you but I'm okay. Antonin, though I should tell you something, I just don't want you to interpret my meaning in a way it's not intended."

"Okay," he said and took a deep breath willing himself to stay calm and not overreact.

"I am worried that having the baby right now will impede on my dreams to pursue a career, because despite the fact that I trust you, I feel that we just have not had enough time to really get used to the idea of our compromise. I don't want you to be disappointed again because I'm not willing to be a housewife…" She explained in an even tone. It took him several moments to reply, just from the shock of what she had revealed.

"Dorogaya, please allow me to reassure you that you have no need of to be afraid that I will back out of my compromise. I know you said you trusted me, but I understand that it feels as though we just agreed on the subject and were planning on it being a future discussion, and then we have the unplanned pregnancy. But I have no plans to take your away your future career. I was afraid you were going to tell me you don't want the baby."

"Oh Merlin, NO!" Hermione exclaimed. "I already have so much love for a baby, it's just the unplanned part of it that had me in a funk. But I want this baby very, very much."

"Well then I also had something I wanted to discuss with you." He began and Hermione nodded.

"Of course."

"Well, I've been thinking. Since we are starting our family I want to do something to provide a little bit more for us. So I'm taking on some freelance work in curse breaking and naturally will also pursue my research in spell creation. And you will return to work after your maternity leave, so that leaves a potential problem with childcare." He ventured and Hermione pursed her lip but nodded in agreement all the same.

"And your solution?" she asked.

"I know you said no already but a house elf?" He asked in a small voice, actually afraid of her reaction before adding "paid of course." Hermione just sighed.

"I'll think about it. It's not a bad idea, as it would be nice to have the extra help with the baby and cleaning and stuff with us both working, but you know how I feel about the house elf issue. I will consider it, alright?"

"Alright."

"Now, tell me how you knew mashed potatoes sounded good." She said in a teasing tone immediately changing the dynamic from serious to playful once again.

"Oh, I don't know, lucky guess." He replied sassily, and leaned into kiss her.

She moaned in his mouth at the contact and instantly tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away.

"As much as I'd love to continue that, I am cooking." He teased. She pursed her lip in a pout.

"You choose food over me." She jested.

"Well, you are eating for two now." She smiled at his playfulness. She loved seeing this side of her husband.

"What did you do while I napped?" she asked him.

"Oh, I just worked a little." He replied. "Researching."

"For what charm?"

"It actually wasn't for spell creation. It was research into curse breaking. I don't know if you knew this or not but I used to work in that field, my knack with charms and charms creation made me quite skilled actually. I had always enjoyed it."

"But when you were marked you stopped?"

"No actually, quite the contrary. As a deatheater I was utilized in the field much more than I was before I joined, checking on cursed objects or breaking them in the name of the dark lord. My work became something I gradually began to despise, for the way it was being manipulated for one wizard's desires. And then of course I was in Azkaban… so I obviously was no longer employable when I escaped because I was still a wanted criminal…"

"And now you feel you can finally try and pursue the passion again."

"I don't know if it will ever be a passion again, I just want our family to be comfortable."

"Oh Antonin, we will be, working as a curse breaker or not…" Hermione sighed trying to reassure him.

"No. I want to do this." He expressed solemnly.

"Okay." Hermione placated. "I just want you to know I already have everything I could possible want."

"I'm glad to know that." He replied eventually and turned back to the stove. Hermione watched him as he worked quietly and contemplated to herself.

It wasn't pity. It wasn't. But she felt something pull on her heart when he explained to her his past. She tried to imagine what it would be like if it were her who had everything she enjoyed in her life twisted and converted to help a cause that she loathed, even if she willingly was a part of the cause.

Antonin regretted his mark, his deeds done as a deatheater, she knew this, and she tried to remind him that the wizarding world was able to overlook his actions because of his remorse for them. But he still didn't see past his own guilt enough to believe her and it broke her heart for him. But she was beginning to realize that it was far beyond shame that held Antonin back from embracing a future. The reality was that he no longer could truly enjoy simple things that had brought him pleasure before. Because it was those very things that were the foundation of the guilt because fucking Voldemort exploited his follower's skills and joys for his own use. So Antonin would have used his job as a curse breaker and his attributes in charms to do unspeakable things, things that he hated himself for.

It was an awaking and one that she could understand but no empathize with because she had not experienced what he had. She did not pity her husband, but she wanted to be a rock for him to lean on. But she didn't know how to be.

"Hermione…" Antonin's rumble pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him to see him looking at her with a frown.

"Yes?' she asked.

"You okay? I've been talking to you for a few minutes and you were not even hearing me…" He explained.

"Oh, I'm good, I was just thinking." She said and flushed. 'I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"It's not important. What were you thinking about, it captured your attention for quite a while there."

"You know me, I was just thinking about random things from books and stuff," Hermione lied and though he didn't show it, Antonin saw through the falsehood. He wondered why she felt the need to be untruthful.

"I had just been telling you that dinner was almost ready and wanted to know if you wanted gravy on the meat as well as the potatoes." The wizard said instead of commenting further on her lie.

"Oh. Um yeah, gravy would be great on everything. Thanks." She said. The silence in the kitchen once again ensued and finally when Antonin had set the table and served the meal he couldn't take it any longer."

"What were you really thinking Pchelka?" He blurted out. "I know you are hiding something. You were too far gone in your own brain for it to be a simple as random facts."

"I…" the witch cut off and looked downward at her plate ashamed. "I was just thinking about how much it pisses me off that that monster too everything you enjoyed away from you." She said after a minute.

"Why didn't you want me to know that?" he pressed.

"I didn't want you to think that I was pitying you."

"Are you?"

"Merlin no. I'm not. I don't know, maybe I am a little but not in a bad way, I honestly just want to see you happy and it just occurred to me that Voldemort took away everything that used to do that." She explained.

"I see." He replied. "That isn't pity. That's concern."

"I know, I just wasn't sure you would see it that way so I didn't say anything."

"He didn't take everything that made me happy away you know…" Antonin said after several moments.

"What?" She asked.

"The dark lord, he tried to, but he didn't take away everything I had."

"Okay. What wasn't he able to take, because from where I'm standing it sure as fuck seems like he took away a whole lot?" She said.

'He didn't take away you." Antonin said simply.

'Antonin you didn't even know me." Hermione replied confused.

"Yes, but as I'm sure you know he was a skilled leglimens and when he saw my thoughts about you he tried to squash them. I may not have known you, but I had encountered you in the department of mysteries, and from the moment I first saw you I was captivated. When you silenced me and I glimpsed at your power I was done for, I may not have thought I'd ever love again but you awoke feelings in me I had long thought dead. You were the one thing that kept me sane in Azkaban the second time, thoughts of you, my memory of your beauty, and my regrets for having cursed you kept me alive, and when Voldemort learned that he wanted to extinguish the fire you were sparking in me, because you were my light in the darkness, the person that made me keep fighting…" He confessed and Hermione sat gaping in stunned silence at his revelation. It was quite the shock, he had never before revealed anything about his time in prison to her, and much less how she was the root of her survival.


	20. Chapter 20

Antonin had never voiced his deepest feelings before. He had never explained what the fifteen years in prison had done to him, or how he had survived the second time around. He never had found words adequate enough to describe just how much this witch had helped him, how deep his obsession for her was.

He didn't think she would want to hear it, their past was not something the couple discussed. He had been forgiven for his indiscriminate past transgressions, however having been forgiven and meaning they were forgotten were entirely different. And the wizard had not forgiven himself.

How could he explain to Hermione that while it was borderline obsession formed because he was intrigued by her power that he loved her before he ever knew her? He hadn't know it to be love then, only now that he recognized the parallel of emotions from his days in a cell to the one's that surfaced even now as he looked at her across their kitchen table. He loved her, and that had saved his life. He was certain that had he not encountered her in the department of mysterious, been silenced by her and therefore angry enough to be pushed into throwing his signature curse at her, and then become obsessed by the idea of her and if he killed her or not, that he would be dead.

She was alight witch who had suffered immeasurably by his own hands and the hands of others he had once considered friends, and she had still been terrified of him when she found out she was being forced into matrimony with him. She was strong, and she was brave, but they didn't talk about the war, it left to many scars that could too easily be split apart and bleed once more. His scars were a stain on his soul, and Hermione's were the evidence that bad things happen to good people. Every time he undressed his wife, and was forced to look at the byproduct of his curse, the long, purple scar that graced her right side from shoulder to hip, he felt shame.

It was easier to not talk about the past, but that meant then that it was hard to explain to her how he felt.

Hermione looked at her husband. Antonin was a dark wizard, there was no denying it. He had done things to her that still caused her to have nightmares, and had done far worse for many other innocent people. He had been compelled to do these things not only because of the influence of mind controlling unforgivable, but also due to a broken childhood full of pureblood ideology and a charismatic dark lord that enticed people like him into service. In short the things he did, he had done because it was all he had ever known, and not because he wanted to. She didn't fault him for that.

She wished that he would open up to her more, because she knew that he bottled his past up inside and it was causing himself to become more bitter and hateful of himself and one day he would wake up and not recognize himself anymore and not see a man worthy of a family. Hermione needed to show him that he was worthy. And she had an idea on how to do that, because she alone couldn't make him see.

But as he told her how he saw her all those years ago, Hermione could repress the smile that broke out on her face. She had so much love in her heart for this wizard and the family they were starting together that she thought perhaps it would flood their lives and they would drown in it. She rose from the chair with the intention to comfort her distressed spouse when he looked at her with an expression of awe.

"Dorogaya, you are glowing." He said in amazement as her chair had scooted back with a squeak and she had stood from it. She didn't doubt the accuracy of his statement, just giggled in reply at his wonder for it.

"Yes, haven't you heard? Pregnant women do that." She replied and was on him in the next instant, straddling his lap, pressing her lips to his and wrapping her arms around his neck. It didn't take long for him to deepen the kiss or drop his arms to cup her arse and squeeze it gently.

She moaned into his mouth and let her tongue battle his for dominance. Vaguely aware of the clattering of plates from the table to the floor, Hermione couldn't have cared less when Antonin had lifted her from his lap to lay her against the now empty wooden surface.

As soon as her back was laid on it, he was spreading her knees to stand between them his member grinding against hers as he leaned over to reclaim her mouth. The steamy song session soon escalated and both of them were pulling at each other's clothes in an effort to bear skin to each other and caress fondly. Hermione wasn't sure when she had lost her knickers, just that she must have when Antonin was pressing his still Jean clad groin against her core. She reached up and undid his belt, and pulled his pants downwards to free him and the wizard wasted no more time before plunging into her balls deep.

Both moaned at the contact. Antonin swiftly withdrew to repeat the motion slowly. After about five or so more thrusts at the slow pace Hermione needed more.

"'Tonin, please." She begged.

"But the baby." He murmered softly.

"Of for fucking love of Merlin, Antonin the baby is fine and you picking up the pace a bit won't hurt it." She yelled exasperated, he was torturing her with sensory overload, with delicious pleasure because he was afraid he was going to hurt the fetus. Fucking men.

"Are you sure."

"Yes, bloody hell Antonin, Fuck me already!" Hermione groaned and then sighed as her wizard did just that pulling out until just the head of his cock rested inside of her and then slamming in hard, fast and fully so that his hips crashed into hers. It didn't last much longer for Hermione to feel nd her reverse and the muscles clenching around him, tightening against his length caused Antonin to follow.

He collapsed on her, panting heavily. "Fuck dorogaya." Was all he could manage to say.

When her own breathing had evened out the witch cooed in his ear. "Antonin, take me to bed."

"As my lady wishes." He replied and did just that. He scooped up their pile of clothes from the messy floor and then lifted her and carried her upstairs. His jeans had never made it fully off his body, so as he set her on the bed the wizard pulled the denim off along with his boots and pulled his wand out of the pocket of his jeans to set it on the nightstand.

As he did the witch chuckled. "Antonin, that is not at all the wand I have in mind."

Antonio's whole body tensed and hardens once more at her suggestive tone and whatever thoughts had been clogging his mind were pushed to the side as he pulled his wife to him.

* * *

Hermione snuck down the stairs quietly that night, Antonin sleeping in their bed. She was loath to leave him, his arms around her were so warm and comforting, and even after their lovemaking, Hermione wanted to be there to comfort him.

But she wanted to help her husband also. He was in such pain from his past and it was hurting her to see it. The man needed therapy but he would not only squash the idea if she suggested it but he would give her one of his looks that seemed to say she had lost her mind. He was quite good at those looks just a straight face, piercing gaze and a quirked eyebrow, and his devilishly handsome face, merlin how she hated that look, but found it incredibly sexy as well. Maybe she would suggest therapy just so she could see it…

Considering the fact that her husband wouldn't consider therapy Hermione had to come up with a different idea, because she needed to do something. Thus why the little witch was sneaking around in the dark house in the middle of the night while her wizard slept. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began drafting a letter to her friend whom she knew could help.

After Harry's graduation and his own marriage he had begun his Auror training and it was going well, and she knew that because of his work and because of who he was, who they were, that they had connections. Hermione could likely have pulled her plan together herself with her own connections from working with the order, but because of who she was married to and the fact she didn't work in the ministry, and her rejection of the marriage law initially, she was worried that her connections were not

as strong as they once had been. So she would be recruiting her friends, and beside the point, she had to tell him her good news as well.

Dearest Harry,

I hope this finds you well, as it has been some time since we have seen each other. I would love to meet you for lunch one day soon as I have some news to share with you and a favor to beg of you. Please respond when you have the chance.

Love,

Hermione.

She penned on the note and sealed the envelope before attaching it to her owl's leg and sending it off. She sat quietly in the little den with an open book on her lap, not wanting to return to bed just yet, too overwhelmed with thoughts to sleep.

Antonin had woken up as the bed began to cool, and realized that Hermione wasn't in it. He had been dreaming, and as his dream had taken a turn for the dark and terrifying past he lived, his subconscious had noted the absence and he sat up in the bed panic seizing him.

He jumped out of the bed and padded down the stairs to check for her, and calmed when he saw her sitting in the den next to a comfy fire holding a book. He silently cast a tempus charm and saw that it was half past two in the morning. He sighed as he walked towards her.

"Hermione," he said gently. "What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep." His witch replied and he sat down next to her.

Still worried about the baby?" he asked.

'No, it's not about the baby at all. I just couldn't sleep, probably because of my nap earlier. I didn't want to wake you so I came down to read." Hermione reassured him, and then setting the book aside she clambered into his lap.

Antonin instinctively wrapped his arms around her and held her there.

"I was worried." He ventured.

"I can see that. I'm okay." She replied with a whisper. "Seeing as you are up now though, I can think of a thing or two that might be able to tire me out." She said with a sly grin. Antonin's answering smirk relayed that he was all to eager to oblige her, but he commented anyway.

"You are insatiable."

"It's the hormones. Get used to it." The witch grinned, and Antonin kissed her softly.

"Fine witch, but this time, we are taking it slow. I want to worship your body."

"Sounds good to me."

All further conversation was cut off when he flipped them over so that he laid over her on the sofa, and pressed kisses into her neck and down her shoulder blades.

"Antonin," Hermione said at one point. "I think it would be nicer right in front of the fire, we've never done it in front of the fire."

Antonin couldn't have agreed more.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hello Guys. I just want to continue to thank you all for your support. The end is in sight however and I wanted to give you a heads up. There are only a couple more chapters until the end folks, and it's been great, but I'm actually excited for the end. So I really want to take a moment to appreciate those of you who have stuck with me from the start and I know it's been a bumpy ride so I really am grateful to all of you. Here is Chapter 21.**

* * *

Hermione was still curled up in her husband's arms and the silver and green checkered quilt that dated back to his Hogwarts days, or so he claimed, in front of the fading fire the next morning when the pecking of an owl awoke her. At first she ignored the bird and sighed breathing in Antonin's spicy scent and snuggling back into him. But the creature was quite insistent and continued pecking at the window pane until the witch finally called it quits. She extracted herself from her position on the floor and woke Antonin up in the process.

"Hmmm, what you doing up?" He murmured sleepily.

"We have an owl and it won't stop tapping to deliver its message." Hermione replied. She crossed to the window in the den room and took the letter from the barn owl she recognized as Harry's. The bird glared at her, and Hermione gave it a treat to sweeten it towards her once more.

"I'm sorry girl. It's just hard to get up in the mornings." She made an excuse to the owl, who hooted a quick acknowledgment and then flew off, evidently not requiring a reply.

"What time is it dorogaya?" Antonin yawned as he sat up and stretched his arms.

"It's half past eight." She replied.

"Oh, well who is sending us an owl so early then?"

"Harry." His witch stated.

"What does he want?" Antonin glowered. He didn't appreciate being woken up especially when he was so comfortable and warm holding his wife.

Hermione sat on the couch as she unsealed the envelope to read its contents.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I'm am well, marriage life is a different experience, but I find that I quite enjoy it. You are right I've been so wrapped up with auror training and stuff that it has been awhile since we talked. Why don't we have lunch today, say one o'clock at the three broomsticks? I'll be there then so if you can make it great, I'll see you there._

 _Love,_

 _Harry._

By the time she was done skimming the letter Antonin had sat next to her on the couch.

"Harry wants to have lunch today." She explained in answer to his question. "I had told him that I have news for him so I suppose this is his reply."

"Going to tell him about the baby?" Antonin inquired.

"Yeah that was my plan. I feel like it should come from me before Ginny has a chance to announce it to the whole world."

"That seems fair."

"I'd invite you to come to lunch, but I really could use some friend time with just Harry. It's been ages since we just hung out. I mean in school we never went more than days before spending time together, and now it's been months."

"I understand. I have to go to the ministry in any case today, I'm getting my freelancing curse breaking license. But promise me you will call for me if you need me."

"I will. I promise." Hermione readily agreed, knowing he would worry for her. "But I'll be just fine." Just then her stomach began to grumble signifying that she was hungry.

"I take it I should feed you?" Antonin asked and began mentally recalling the list of foods that would be suitable for breakfast that could possibly be less upsetting to Hermione while she was pregnant.

"I guess, but I don't want to get sick. I'm not sure eating this early is a great idea."

"Some toast and fresh fruit with a bowl of oatmeal shouldn't upset you too much. How does that sound?"

"Well, it doesn't seem to be causing nausea so we can try it." Hermione agreed.

* * *

Hermione kissed Antonin softly before he left for the ministry that morning after breakfast. He had seemed reluctant to go, and Hermione needed him to. First and foremost he had expressed to her that this freelancing thing was something he wanted to do, he wanted to feel useful and that he was doing all he could to provide for his family, and so she gently reminded him of that fact. She assured him once more that she would be just fine, but that of course she would call for him if she needed him for anything at all. The second reason she needed him out of the house was because she needed some space to think about her plan for helping him overcome his demons.

That and it was just nice, to have some time to herself. It was only the third day since she found out she was expecting, and she still had four days left of her leave from work, and she was already going a little stir crazy. It certainly didn't help that her husband hadn't really left her alone since she came home that first day. He had been hovering, and she understood that he just wanted to make sure she was okay, and that she had already given him some reasons for concern, but he was smothering her a little and it was nice to be able to breathe without him being underfoot.

It seems that she had grown accustomed to her husband's long working hours were he had holed himself up in his study and either researched or practiced casting his original incantations.

The young witch pursed her lips. Just what was she going to do about her husband? He would be difficult to say the least, though she suspected that he would be far angrier with her for interfering in this if he was the only focus of her meddling. So she wanted to spread her project out to all of the pardoned former death eaters, but the small problem still remained that while therapy was the best option for helping them, they would be reluctant at best to participate, even if she could somehow get it government sanctioned.

So she had to be cleverer than that, which was not a common trait for Gryffindor's and she was Gryffindor through and through. She suddenly had an idea and sighed in relief. She could initiate a program that reintroduced the former deatheaters to society that would slowly but surely allow them more privileges for the progress the made in their own self-healing. In short, Hermione believed that the more access these people had to official occupations, civil rights, freedom to walk down the street without being hexed, rights to resources and fair treatment, the more they would slowly begin to forgive themselves their past deeds. Now she just had to convince Harry to spearhead it, because she didn't want her name or face anywhere the project to the public. Even if it was her baby.

* * *

She was just on time for lunch and Harry had already reserved them a booth. She waved from the doorway with a goofy grin that only her two best friends could bring out in her, and immediately headed towards him.

"Hi Harry." She sighed as his arms closed around her in a tight bear hug.

"Hey 'Mione," he greeted in return before asking "What can I get you? A butterbeer?"

Hermione paused, and then shook her head. Forlornly, she turned down one of her favorite comfort drinks, butterbeer was good but nothing beat the Three Broomsticks butterbeer, and Hermione had been craving it. However, she was pregnant and alcohol, any alcohol was a big no, no.

"Actually I think just a cup of tea today." She replied instead and after giving her a puzzled look her friend nodded and went up to the bar to place their order for drinks and a bowl of Rosemerta's stew.

"So you had news for me," Harry inquired upon his return, sitting across from Hermione who had settled into the booth and removed her cloak. It was always warm in the little pub.

"Indeed, and I need to pick your brain." She replied. "But first things first. How are you? It's been too long, and I want to know how married life is treating you." Harry just smiled at her sheepishly and his face reddened on a light blush. "That good huh?"

"Yeah, it's great. I mean I had my reservations at first but Jaz is great, she is really great and we get along. But come on, I'm way more interested in you. You know I hate talking about myself."

"Well, Honestly Harry, I've had my ups and downs. Antonin and I love each other, but we come from very different backgrounds. And it's been rough because he isn't overjoyed that I'm working, we've compromised and he knows that it makes me happy, but he had always dreamed of having the perfect housewife…."

"That's ridiculous," Harry burst out getting annoyed.

"No," Hermione argued. "No Harry, it's not. He was raised in a family where women got married and stayed home to raise the family. He is used to living in a society that shares similar ideologies of the subject of women working. I can understand how he feels, and the important thing is he isn't trying to keep me home. However, while he wasn't stopping me in my healer training, it was making him very unhappy and he objected to the long hours, he wants a mother to be there for the family. So I agreed that the hours were long, and dropped out of the healer program, and now I'm training to be a mediwitch."

"Hermione, you shouldn't let him change you." Harry frowned at her news.

"I know, and please don't get the wrong idea, Harry he isn't changing me, it's just that we had to find a way to compromise. Marriage is about compromising, and we found a way to do that. I am happy in my new program."

"Okay. If you say so." He replied.

"And I'm pregnant. I just found out a couple days ago, I'm about six weeks along."

"Wow. Congratulations. You guys waste no time."

"It wasn't planned, and yes it may be a little soon, but I'm excited, and Antonin is really happy to."

"Good. I'm glad for you. I'm not sure I like everything I'm hearing, but as long as you are happy and safe, then I'm good."

"I am happy. And Antonin takes all precautions with my safety. He even created a new protection spell for me, that's pretty powerful."

"Glad to hear it." Harry replied just as their stew arrived. The scent of the stew had always been a pleasant one, and it was no different now, much to the witch's relief, as she heartily dug into the meal." Harry cleared his throat.

"Wow, 'Mione, I can't say I've ever seen you eat like that before, and I've known you for years."

"I'm eating for two now, so I feel hungry a lot." Hermione explained.

"At least you are not as bad as Ron." Her friend replied and Hermione's face crinkled with disgust.

"Gee, thanks. I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult." Hermione said.

"Well it wasn't an insult." He replied. "What did you need to ask me, you mentioned a favor?" Harry changed the subject.

"Well," Hermione began "It's sort of a long story. And a sensitive issue. If Antonin knew I was bringing this up at all, he would be really upset, so I need you to swear that this conversation remains private."

"Of course. On my magic I will not talk about this with anyone aside from yourself, unless you specifically ask me to." Harry swore a wizard's oath.

"Thank you Harry." She said before she cast a muffilato around the table. No need to have anybody overhearing the conversation.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

"I'm worried about my husband, Harry. He internalizes a lot, and we never really talk about the past at all. But recently he has shared some small details with me that have given me some glimpses into his mind. Harry, Antonin is blaming himself for everything he did in the past, he's holding on to his guilt and regret and he's refusing to forgive himself for it. It doesn't matter what I try to say to him, reminding him that he was compelled to do these things, or that the war is over now, he just won't budge. And I worry that one day I'm going to wake up and he will no longer be recognizable because he will be to overcome with these feelings he is harboring and not talking about."

"I hear you Hermione, but, I don't really know how I can help."

"Well it got me to thinking, Antonin would reject the idea of speaking to a professional, and look at me like I was crazy if I brought home self-help books. He wouldn't like that I am worried about him in that way and he would try and reassure me that he is fine, but I really don't think that he is. And I'm wondering perhaps if some of the other pardoned deatheaters are feeling the same, because I am blaming the public for some of the repressed feelings Antonin has. Being subject to hateful glares and jeers in the streets, and having more steps to get access to resources and privileges at the ministry, or being barred from jobs just because of the past does them no favors. What good is it being pardoned if the society still treats them as criminals?"

"You make a good point. It isn't fair, but Hermione, we can't control how the public feels. The fact remains that he did serve Voldemort, willingly or not and he did terrible things and hurt many people, and forgiving is one thing, forgetting is another."

"I know Harry. I'm not asking the world to forget what happened, what these people did. But The Ministry is sitting by and allowing prejudice to rule. We fought a damned war against it, and now we are won and ended blood purity ideologies from running rampant, but merlin, we are no better if we allow the purebloods to be segregated because they fought on the wrong side. The ministry can do something about it."

"Like what?"

"Well I have an idea. And hear me out Harry James Potter, because I know you are going to say no at first, but it's a good idea."

"Okay…." He said reluctantly.

"I would like to initiate a program for the pardoned and reformed deatheaters to be sort of re-established as citizens into society. A program that sees to the fact that they have access to any job they want, protection from being hexed in the streets unprovoked, the same and equal treatment when it comes to accessing resources, no more extra steps just because they have a past. I really feel that the more society begins to accept them and they don't have to sit in their homes all day with nothing but their thoughts that the healing process can really begin. The only problem is I can't be the one to sphere head the project."

Harry's first thought was that she was right, he did want to say no, because he knew exactly what she was asking. And if she felt as strongly as she did about this he realized that this could turn into her new S.P.E.W. Merlin forbid that happen. So he breathed in through his teeth and then said. "Fine. I'll see what I can do. But Hermione, we are doing this my way." And in the next instant Hermione had flung herself into his arms and was repeating thank you like a broken record.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: The second to last chapter in this story has arrived. I really hope you enjoy this final chapter before the epilogue. I have appreciated all of my readers, reviews and followers so much for their support and I can gladly say that in all of my years as a writer, this will be the first fan-fiction novel I have completed and it is large part due to you guys, so thank you.**

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic Approves New Program**

 _The wizarding world has been abuzz the past three months as the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and other ministry officials have been plotting something big behind closed doors. All information on what their plans were have been kept under wraps and top secret until now. It seems that the ministry has passed several new laws to support a new government sanctioned program. A program that will be geared towards the allegedly former and pardoned death eaters, and allowing them more privilege in our esteemed society._

 _It appears as though none other than Mr. Harry Potter is the culprit upon introducing the idea to the Minister, but the question remains as to who planted the seed in his mind because savior as he may be, we all know the boy-who-lived-to-conquer does not have the brains to think this up all on his own. Which leads us here at the daily prophet to wonder, is it the imperius curse? Because why else would suggest such a thing? Not to worry, we here at the Daily Prophet are working diligently to find out the truth._

 _New laws include providing the pardoned war criminals with more access to employment opportunities, ministry resources, equal opportunities and treatment as well as more protection from the animosity many still hold for these persons._

 _More details to follow. Stay tuned._

 _Written by Rita Skeeter_

Antonin threw down the prophet on the table at breakfast that morning. He was two parts disgusted by the rubbish the paper had just reported, and two parts curious. He looked to his barely five month pregnant wife to assess what she might know on this subject. For all the dirt and lies that Skeeter spewed, it was true that Saint Potter had neither the intellect nor the will to come up with the idea on his own. However, he did know somebody who had both. And he needed to hear it from her, though he hoped that she knew nothing.

Hermione, sensing her husband's intrigued gaze played coy as she sipped her herbal tea blend. The morning sickness had thankfully passed in her second trimester and she was once again able to stomach her breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.

"Something distressing in the paper dear?" Hermione asked.

"Hmmm," Antonin uttered a non-committal huff, "What would you happen to know about a new program dorogaya?" He asked her quietly.

"You known I hate it when you answer a question with a question." Hermione replied. Strategically not answering his question.

"Answer me dorogaya." Antonin clipped.

"I don't know what you are referring to Antonin."

"I think that you do." Her husband replied coldly. Hermione snatched the paper from where he had discarded it and skimmed the paper. Fuck Rita Skeeter, Hermione thought to herself. The fucking bitch had all but pointed the finger to this whole thing having been orchestrated by her. Hermione had hoped she would be left out of this, that no suspension would fall on her.

But it had, and now the witch was faced with a dilemma. Brush off having any knowledge about it, or confess. Either way was bad. Antonin could handle a lot, but the one thing he detested above all others was being lied to. The wizard may be quite angry with her for meddling in this way, but that was forgivable at some point, to lie would be unforgivable. But the witch didn't want to make any decisions at that point.

Sighing deeply Hermione replied. "Antonin, I... I have to go to work." And she rose from the chair and strode towards the floo. However her husband blocked her path.

"No, Hermione. You will answer me. What did you know about this?" Antonin said through clenched teeth.

"I, I'm going to be late." She said and began to shake a little.

"Now!" Her husband hissed, becoming more angry by the second.

"I knew about it." Hermione confessed after a long moment had passed.

Antonin breathed out a sigh, clenched fists at his side, before moving one hand through his dark brown, wavy, thick hair in exasperation.

"How?" He growled out the question.

"I gave Harry the idea." Hermione said honestly. She had been prepared for yelling, for more questions, for his anger and annoyance. So when his chocolate brown eyes lifted to meet hers the look of betrayal that filled them tore her heart apart. Though not as much as his words.

"I can't even look at you right now, madame. Go to work, when you get back we will be discussing this." The rough voice bespoke his raw anger. Hermione blanched at that. He had never called her anything besides her name or his Russian endearments before. To be called madame by her husband was not only hurtful, it was a sign of how upset he was. Knowing when she wouldn't be able to talk herself out of something moved towards the floo and silently left for the hospital tears streaming down her face. Though she hid them from her husband.

* * *

When she arrived at work, her apparent distress had her supervisors concerned. She had to beg them not to send her home, insist that she was fine to work, admit that she was arguing with her spouse. They were still reluctant, but did not send her home. She was however, sent to the research room. In the three months since she had returned to work, she had worked her way up to almost always caring for the patients. It was a low blow to her to have been sent back to researching, independently in a cold, stark white room just because she was more emotional than normal. But grateful that she could still work and avoid the home, she didn't complain and set about her day.

Hermione did of course enjoy research, she just felt more useful at the patient's side. But as she set up, she easily fell into the files and medical journals and found the work soothing. Which is why when five thirty struck on the clock, she was still working, though her shift should have ended two hours prior.

Even when she realized how late it was, Hermione just went on working. She felt a little guilty, but she really didn't want to go home. She didn't want to face Antonin or his anger, so she decided she could just stay and work. Many other trainees pulled double shifts, but she was never expected to because of her status as a married witch. The hospital still held onto old fashioned values, and while legally couldn't unemploy a married or pregnant witch, had guidelines in its handbook that made its expectations that witch's should care for their home and families known. Hermione disliked that on principle, and seeing as her supervisors had yet to kick her out for the day, she chose to stay.

* * *

Antonin had been waiting at home for her. He regretted his reaction to her news earlier that day, he had been angry and hurt by what he instinctively felt as a deception and needed her to go. Immediately regretting his overreaction when he sent her through the floo, he had gone over to have a chat with Rabastan.

His friend had looked at him pointedly and said, "Tell me, just what is so bad about this situation." Antonin struggled for five minutes to actually answer that. And when he just shook his head Rabastan said "exactly."

They had talked awhile about what this new program was offering them. They had been ostracized because of their past, shunned from employment or even patronising shops and other business in some instances. They had been subjected to unfair treatment, longer processes and procedures at the ministry than the average, non dark wizard citizens were. And this program was putting an end to it. And it had been Hermione who had caused it. Antonin hung his head in shame as he returned to Rosewood Cottage.

But that had been five hours ago and Hermione had been due home well over four hours. Afraid that he had gone too far and really pushed her away for good, the wizard was at a loss as to what to do. Instead of going his usual route which be to drown his self pity in a bottle of Ogden's he chose to go find her. He knew she wasn't with Ginny, because had she been either Rabastan or the redheaded herself would have owled him.

And he doubted she would take her troubles to Potter or Weasley. So his first stop was the hospital. He arrived at her ward and was greeted by the welcome witch.

"I'm looking for Hermione Dolohov." He politely informed her.

"Okay, let me just check. I'm sorry sir, but we don't have a patient here by that name."

He looked at the blonde twit for a long moment before realizing that yes, she was that stupid.

"Umm, she's not a patient." He explained. "Hermione works here, she us in the mediwitch training."

"Oh yes, I see now. That Hermione," the witch made an unpleasant expression that had he not been worried about his wife would have made him wipe off the witch's face. She looked like she had sucked on a sour lemon. "She is in the research room today. First corridor on your l left, all the way down take a right, first door on the right."

Without a word in reply Antonin was off. When he reached the destination he found his wife, notating documents, files laying in a disarray, and old medical journals stacked up in a disorderly fashion.

"Dorogaya." He said and she tensed. Finally she turned to face him.

"I'm working." She said.

"Your shift ended over four hours ago." He replied.

"Oh I know. But I'm still working. And I'm actually quite busy." She hissed at him. Antonin wasn't mad per say, annoyed certainly, but not angry. And he considered his wife's condition before asking.

"What have you eaten today?" She didn't answer, but he noticed the slight frown. He took that to mean she had not eaten anything. He blamed her supervisors more than her, because she did tend to get caught up in work, especially when upset, which she clearly was. They should have checked on her, made sure she was eating, and taking breaks, and leaving when her shift was over. He was going to be sending one nasty howler. Not regretting his next action in the slightest, he picked Hermione up out of his chair, scooped her up in his arms in a position that would harm neither him, her or the baby, and strode out of the hospital and towards home. She was yelling profanities at him the whole way, but it didn't deter him one bit. Only when they reached home did he set her down, sure to block her floo access for the rest of the night and set about making dinner. He didn't doubt he had an enraged witch on his hands, he just didn't care, because he needed to get food into her.

"How dare you?" Hermione yelled as she jumped up from the sofa he had placed her on and marched after him. "How dare you just come into my workplace and remove me by force?"

"I dare, dorogaya," Antonin said in an eerily calm voice, like the calm before the storm, "Because you are my wife. My pregnant wife, who not only worked hours longer than the mandated maximum St. Mungos enforces, but also didn't stop at all today to think that aside from causing injury to herself by not eating, was causing potential harm to the child she carries. I was merely doing what was in my right as your husband and bringing you home."

"Like you even care if I'm here or not. You all but banished me! I worked overtime because I was afraid you didn't want me to come home." Hermione screamed at him as the tears began to roll down her face. Antonin wasn't one to make muggle food, but seeing the hysteria she was falling into, threw in a frozen pizza, and caught her in his arms because she was beginning to slide down the wall.

"Hush, hush now" he soothed. "I was admittedly an arse to you this morning. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome."

He kept repeat apologies to her as she calmed down. And when she finally had, decided it was time to clear the air.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Here it is the epilogue…. Enjoy and please be sure to read my notes of gratitude at the end.**

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Hermione screamed out. "Fucken-a, ouch!" She finished on a low groan.

"You're doing great, dorogaya." Her husband attempted to soothe. She shot him a death glare.

"You, You did this to me." She hissed at him through the pain.

"Yes." He admitted. "And I'm not sorry either, because it was a great night." He gave her favorite smirk of his. It did nothing to placate her.

"I forgot how much this fucking hurts." She said, right before another contraction hit.

"Deep breaths 'Mione" Ginny said holding her other hand, and shot a glare of her own at the dark haired wizard who was her husband. "That is not what she needs to be reminded of right now, dickhead."

"Nobody asked your opinion, harpy." He retorted sharply.

Five and a half years since they were all brought together had still not proven to be enough time to improve the relationship between her husband and her best friend. They were friendly enough towards each other, but there were many more petty squabbles than there were kind words between them.

The healer chose that moment to enter. She gave all three of them a no-nonsense look that Hermione recognized well, having worked with Healer Jones for 2 years now. "Time to push Mrs. Dolohov," she said, as she would to any patient.

"I don't want to," Hermione whined.

"Now, now," She said. "None of that." Properly scolded, Hermione inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she pushed.

Three pushes later a loud wail pierced the room, immediately followed by a bustle of activity. And then a new bundle wrapped in a fine blue blanket was placed on Hermione's chest.

"It's a very healthy baby boy." Healer Jones informed the proud parents of the bundle. Hermione's pain was forgotten as she held her newborn son in her arms. Antonin leaned over to look at him.

"He looks like an Alexander," he commented lowly.

"No." Hermione responded. "We have agreed on this already Antonin. The twins got the Russian names, he is going to be named William, for my father."

"Yes, yes, I know. But he does look like a little Sasha." He replied. As if in agreement with his father, the baby boy opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily. Then smiled. Hermione's heart melted a little bit. Antonin smirked at her triumphantly, knowing that this was a sign his wife couldn't ignore.

"Fine you win," She huffed.

"Alexander William Dolohov?" Antonin asked then, knowing how much it meant to Hermione to honor her parent's memory, even though they were no longer here to share this with her.

"Yes." She said tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes, it's perfect. He's perfect."

"You are perfect, and beautiful." Antonin kissed her to follow his statement.

"You need to rest now, Mrs. Dolohov." Healer jones instructed and then handed Sasha to his father to hold for a while. "And you," the healer directed to Ginny, "need to leave now."

As Ginny fluttered out of the room with one final squeeze to her hand, Hermione's eyelids drooped. After eighteen hours of labor, she needed the sleep her body exhausted from giving birth.

* * *

They returned to Rosewood Cabin in the dark of the night, long after the twins would have been put to bed, by Effie, the house-elf and nanny. Hermione had relented in her refusal of the house-elf when she discovered that she was carrying twins in her first pregnancy. And Effie, who was a free elf, with a paid salary, was a huge help to the family and treated as an extension of them.

Dimitri and Natasha Dolohov, were little trouble-makers, and while she loved them, they wore Hermione down. She was still very tired from her labor, and the last thing she wanted was the twin's excitement for the new arrival, and her return, she just wanted to sleep, in her bed for a good four hours at least. She was wise enough to realize she wouldn't get much more than that.

Antonin kissed her when the crossed the threshold to their home, and took the baby. "I'll put Sasha in his cradle love, you just go on up to bed."

"Hmmm." She hummed contently. Bed sure did sound good. Sleep claimed her almost as soon as she hit the pillow, but true to thought it didn't last long.

"Mamochka, Mamochka! You're home!" Exclaimed the enthusiastic voice oh her eldest son, Dimitri. At five years old he was still her little boy who loved his mama above all else. Natasha, his little sister, by seven minutes (as she always corrected), didn't say anything, just beamed at her mother and climbed into bed.

Hermione sighed, saddened by the loss of rest, but happy to see her children all the same, and sat up, sure to put plenty of pillows around her to be comfortable. Antonin wasn't there, which caused Hermione to wonder just what time it was. Mustering up enough energy to do the morning ritual she always had done with them she grinned and began tickling them.

Peals of laughter filled her bedroom as she did, and pleads of "stop momochka, stop!' sounded. She ruffled their heads. "Good morning my loves." She said. Dmitri cuddled into her side and Natasha sat crisscross applesauce by Hermione's feet.

"Mamochka?" her son asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes Dimka?" Hermione used her son's nickname.

"Can we see the baby now?"

She was about to reply that she didn't know when Antonin walked in a stern expression on his handsome features.

"Dimka, Natka!" He exclaimed to their children. "What did I tell you?"

"To leave mamochka be." Natasha replied sullenly.

"Yes. And did my order sound like it was one to be disobeyed?" Antonin scolded.

"No Papen'ka" Pouted Dimitri.

"Then why are you in her bothering momochka?"

"We just wanted to see her." They said in unison.

"Be that as it may, you should have waited. Go downstairs and eat the breakfast Effie made for you now." Antonin directed them and they forlornly did as they were told, heads hung low after their chastisement. Antonin pulled his best I'm sorry smile. Hermione looked up at him and smiled back.

"They were excited." She told him.

"I know, but I told them you were tired and to let you sleep. I am sorry they woke you dorogaya."

"It's okay," she smiled at him. "I figured I wouldn't get too much sleep. What time is it anyway?"

"Quarter past nine." Her husband informed her.

"It's more sleep than I thought I'd get in any case. Help me up."

"No, Dorogaya. You need to stay in here and rest," Antonin protested. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him pointedly.

"I am getting out of this bed Antonin." She stated crossly. "With or without your help."

"Fine, Fine." He muttered, but helped her out of bed gently and eased her arms into her favorite, fluffy pink robe. She was, as she still did when she had endured a large amount of stress, wearing her old, worn out pig pajamas.

Together they walked downstairs so that Hermione could settle onto the plush couch that had replaced the leather one, due to the fact they had small children around, and he wrapped a blanket around her.

"Where is Alexander?" Hermione asked, wanting to hold her newborn.

"Sasha is fine. Effie was feeding him a moment ago." As if on a cue the small elf popped into the room holding her bundled up son, and placed him in her outstretched arms.

"Thank you Effie." Hermione said and the elf just rolled her eyes.

"Yes Mistress Hermione. Effie is glad you and young master are home safe." Effie replied, and began fussing about her, bringing her some juice and a bowl of oatmeal.

Hermione chuckled as the twins came bounding into the room, feet pounding on the hardwood floors. They stopped just short of the couch when Antonin's face darkened in warning. He was sitting next to Hermione, one arm wrapped around her shoulder lovingly.

"Dimka, Natka, come and sit so that I can introduce you to your new brother." Hermione offered to them, seeing their excited expressions. "Carefully now, mind you." She added. Natasha climbed on to Antonin's lap, she was her daddy's little girl, spoiled rotten by him to, and leaned over to peer at the baby. Dimitri did the same, except he curled into Hermione other side, still young enough to prefer holding on to his mama's skirts.

"This is your little brother, Alexander." Hermione introduced.

"Who we will be calling Sasha. Can either of you tell me why?" Antonin had been teaching the children his mother-tongue and always seized an opportunity for a lesson.

"Sasha is like our names, the ones that mean little Dimitri, or little Natasha, it's like little Alexander." Dimitri informed brightly. He was so knowledgeable, Hermione suspected that they might have a little Ravenclaw on their hands.

"That's right." Antonin praised. "So who wants to hold Sasha first?" Two little hands flew up into the air.

Hermione smiled as she watched her husband explain to the twins how to properly hold their brother and reflected on her life.

After the whole incident with the program and the fight that occurred because of it, they hardly ever argued. There were plenty of disagreements but they handled it by talking through their problems and not running away from it, well at least not for long. They both had their way of cooling down when they were angry that they respected for the other.

Antonin, who had felt betrayed that Hermione had gone so far as to involve the government, had come to realize exactly who his little wife was, and how much she really wanted to change the world. He saw reason that of course she wanted to help where she saw a need to, and he couldn't deny that what the program had been offering were great new opportunities and changes for the better for him and for his former comrades. Hermione had admitted that she should have communicated her fears to him before acting, and that had been that.

She had graduated from her training at the hospital right before the birth of the twins. Of course she didn't officially begin work until after her maternity leave, and when she did, she proved to be a very skilled at her job and loved it. The hours were regulated, so she was able to eat breakfast with her family and be home early afternoon. Antonin, who despite now being permitted to work as a government sanctioned curse-breaker opted to continue on with his freelance work. He wanted to continue to have time for his research and spell creation, and remain close to his family, which he believed would be difficult within the realms of a ministry career.

The twins were the first children born to any of the golden trio, but swiftly followed by Hugo Weasley, James Sirius Potter, and Selena Lestrange, who were all close in age and the very best of friends. Hermione shook her head whenever she thought of the trouble they would get into when they went off to Hogwarts, and was glad it was still six years away.

Of course Harry, Ron and Ginny all had their second, and third in Ron's case, kids within a couple of years, however with twins, Antonin and Hermione had their hands full and decided to wait.

The marriage law that brought them all together, was disbanded eighteen months after it began. And yes, many wizarding couples forced together by it did choose to divorce, but Hermione was pleased that for her and her friends, the war was finally over and the union between them and their spouses who fought on the dark side, had found happiness and overcome all that they had grown-up with.

Hermione couldn't be happier than she was. Antonin was a wonderful and loving father, who did now open up more to her about how he felt about the past. While they still had their up's and downs, and it had been one hell of a ride to get them this far, Hermione was glad that this was her life and she knew she had found her soulmate.

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 **A/N: And that's it! I Still can't believe this is over, but I'm very proud of what I've accomplished with the story. I really hope that you all enjoyed it. As of now, my next work in progress (aside from DLG) is a Rabastan/Hermione pairing called Fragments to be posted soon. So while I do not currently have another Antonin/Hermione in the works, I do love this pairing and have every intention of writing another with them soon. Thank you all so much for your support. There are so many of you who gave me ideas, but moreover the love and nurturement I needed to write this. A special shout-out to those of you who I know have stuck with this story and me since the very beginning and have given me your reviews: pgoodrichboggs and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and reviewing every chapter I posted. Many others of you, and you all know who you are have also left me plenty of appreciation, which has helped me in the completion of this story, so thank you to all of you as well.**


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